Shadowed Friendship
by Orange Lantern Tsume
Summary: AU. Takato is a werewolf, Rika is a vampire, and Henry is a HunterSlayer. Henry moves to Japan and meets Takato and Rika, and befriends the two. But what happens when he learns their secrets? TR?HR? R&R! DONE!
1. Takato the Werewolf

Shadowed Friendship  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: I don't really care that there are virtually no Digimon in this fic; I just wrote it because there are not enough supernatural/horror-type stories for the Tamers or the Digidestined in the first place.  
  
Summary: This is an AU fic. Takato Matsuki is a werewolf, but his parents might not be (I haven't really decided yet). Rika Nonaka is a vampire, was born that way, and her mother and grandmother are humans. Henry Wong will move to Tokyo (I think that's where the show takes place) soon enough, so hold your horses.  
  
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Chapter 1: Takato the Werewolf  
  
  
  
  
  
The Matsukis were a small family, consisting of only three members: The father, the mother, and Takato the son. Takato went to school like every other normal child, and made some good, if slightly peculiar friends, during his time there. He would help out around the house, the one that had a small bakery on the ground level. His room was upstairs...but he had a second room.  
  
His parents never talked about any of it, except amongst themselves and their son. Takato's second room was more like a prison cell. Three nights a month, when the moon was full, Takato Matsuki's parents would take him downstairs and lock him in the small cell.  
  
He would just barely fit inside, and when he changed, his more violent form would have no room to charge the door. Mr. Matsuki had been extremely careful when he designed and installed the door, making certain that his unfortunate son would not escape.  
  
But tonight was not one of those nights. Tonight, Takato was in his room, lying on the floor, sleeping peacefully. He never wanted to go downstairs again. Even though he only changed once a month, or whenever his emotions were beyond his control, he just wanted to SLEEP. It was such a beautiful thing. He could sleep all day.  
  
The next day, Takato got dressed for school. He walked to the school with his friends, Kazu and Kenta. The only one missing was Jeri. She was a nice girl that really liked Takato. The boy liked her back, but couldn't risk trusting her with his secret.  
  
"People are like diamonds," Mr. Matsuki had told his son one day. "They show you one side, and when you do something you think is right or normal, they show you another side, and sometimes that side is a truly evil thing."  
  
Takato took those words to heart, knowing they had gotten his father out of more than a few problems---or potential problems with old girlfriends, anyway. The young boy liked his friends, yes, but couldn't trust them with a secret.  
  
"A secret is a secret because it isn't told," his father had also said. "If you tell someone your secret, it isn't a secret anymore. And some secrets have to remain unknown."  
  
Takato's mother thought her husband was being a bit melodramatic, but trusted him to teach her son how to keep his mouth shut. Even though superstition was not nearly as strong as it used to be, there were still fanatics out there that would do anything to hurt others in the "name of purity." The Matsukis---even Takato---thought it was all a bunch of bullshit.  
  
Kazu, Kenta, Jeri, and the teacher, Ms. Isaji, were all perfectly happy not knowing the dark secret that the Matsukis kept. But most importantly, above anyone else's joy, Takato was happy. If his friends didn't know, and were happy not knowing, then he was happy not knowing what would happen if they DID know.  
  
"Takato, man, you are STILL crazier than catfish," Kazu said, his trademark expression in use. He always thought Takato was crazy for liking strange things. You see, Takato liked to read scary stories, especially classics like Brahm Stoker's Dracula. He also liked to read about his own kind.  
  
"Yeah, you can be pretty weird," Kenta nodded. Kenta was, in Takato's honest opinion, an idiot of the finest caliber. He would always do ridiculous things, and make Kazu repeat the "Catfish Line" many times over.  
  
Takato smiled to himself and shook his head. "Maybe I am, but at least I'm crazy enough to know you two guys are both nuts."  
  
"Get a clue, Chun-Li" Kazu said. He always called Takato that. "Crazy and nuts are the same thing."  
  
"Oh really?" Takato said, using the tone of voice his parents used on him when they were playing him like a puppet. Kazu and Kenta blinked, looked at each other, and then just stared at Takato. He knew he was creeping them out.  
  
"Time to go," Kazu snickered. The clock was almost done counting down the time until the students were kids again, free from the tyranny of the "Evil Ms. Isaji."  
  
"You aren't free yet," the teacher snickered back. "I still have a full minute---"  
  
The bell rang.  
  
"Blast," Ms. Isaji groaned. Kazu was perfect at tricking her like that.  
  
"So, Takato, you going to the Digimon Tournament tonight, at the Fukuyama Expo Center?" Kazu asked. (AN: I'm making that place up; I know jack shit about Japan.)  
  
"I guess so," Takato replied. He had heard that the legendary Digimon Queen would be there. According to the info he got from Kazu, the girl was a total master of the game, but only showed up at certain tournaments.  
  
"It's because of her mom," Kenta said. "The Digimon Queen is the kid of some big shot model. I hear because she was neglected, she never goes outside, staying indoors to practice her inhuman card game skills."  
  
"You are---"  
  
"Crazier than milked goats," Takato said casually, this time not laughing. He had spent weeks coming up with wild things to say when Kazu said the Catfish Line, and had only recently mastered the art of keeping from laughing.  
  
Kazu and Kenta both stared at him, and then burst into laughter.  
  
"Man, that wasn't half bad!" Kenta said.  
  
"Yeah---it was all bad!" Kazu joked.  
  
Later that night, Takato climbed into bed (AN: What DO they call those 'floor-beds', anyway?) and sighed. It was his last night upstairs, because tomorrow was a full moon. Closing his eyes, he prayed he had good dreams, and fell asleep...  
  
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Across the city, someone else woke up, their sleep ending with the daylight. Her hunger twisting her stomach, the young girl climbed out of her "bed" and went to get a drink.  
  
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AUTHOR: Oh no, a CLIFFHANGER! Whatever will you do? How about READ N REVIEW!? Hey, that rhymes! Anyway, read and review as I asked, so that I can write more of this great story. After all, you people want to meet Rika and Henry, right? 


	2. Rika the Vampire

Shadowed Friendship  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: I swear, I am under-appreciated. No on ever reads any of my fics; they only care about themselves.  
  
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Chapter 2: Rika the Vampire  
  
  
  
  
  
Her hunger making her stomach knot with eagerness, Rika Nonaka swung open the lid of her coffin and got out. It was dark, and the moon would be full tomorrow, which was perfect for her: All the more light to see any victims of hers by. She was used to dealing with street trash whenever she went out, and sometimes looked forward to it when thirsty.  
  
Rika wasn't like other people. She had been born a vampire, and would always stay one until she died for good. Her mother, Rumiko Nonaka, had met a mysterious man one night, and had been lured into a web she had never fully escaped from. The vampire hadn't bitten her, but had gotten her pregnant with little Rika, and that was the whole story in a nutshell.  
  
Rika herself could give a rat's ass about her "father," who had vanished permanently after that night. She had been born late on night, at home, her own mother's own mother helping with the delivery. Rumiko had thought that her child was unaffected by the vampire, that Rika was her "little angel." She had been proven very wrong when Rika first became thirsty, killing the dog from across the street. It hadn't tasted very good to Rika, but Rumiko had scolded her daughter anyway.  
  
Rika, locked up sleeping all day, had taken up practicing martial arts, the sciences and literature, and card games when she couldn't sleep at day. Eventually, she became so engulfed in her studies that she sometimes skipped feeding to practice and study. It was a good thing Rumiko had connections and that nobody ever questioned her words, or Rika's ninjutsu instructor would have almost definitely figured out the girl was a vampire.  
  
But as things were, Rika, the Digimon Queen, was forever perceived as a strange little girl. No one would ever learn the truth.  
  
Putting on her leather jacket, Rika checked her watch and saw she still had plenty of time before daylight. This time, she hadn't overslept. She had to admit, she looked nice in her new clothes (AN: You know, the shirt with the broken heart and the jeans?).  
  
"Rika?" a feminine voice asked.  
  
The girl didn't need to turn around to know who it was: Renamon, the fox- like Digimon that had been with her since she was an infant. Rika didn't bother recalling at the moment that her mother and grandmother had created the creature from a wish given to them by a traveling magician. Renamon was a perfect companion, and never failed to watch over her charge.  
  
"You are going out for a drink?" Renamon asked.  
  
"Nah, I'll just grab a drink from the fridge and then I'll wander around town for a bit." And she did so. The Nonakas had a hidden cache of Snapple bottles filled with stolen human blood, taken from blood banks, all of them perfectly healthy and safe to drink, even for a human. Rika grabbed one and drank it, heading outside.  
  
The city was alive at night, glowing with bright lights and people everywhere. Rika liked to sit and watch people every now and then, viewing them not as living beings but as food. It made her smile.  
  
She kept moving, and bumped into some kid with a brightly colored vest. "Hey, watch it!" the boy said, glaring at her.  
  
Rika glared back, her ice-blue glasses disguising the seductive color of her lilac eyes. "Or what?" she asked calmly. "You think I'm afraid of you?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" the boy said. He had navy-blue hair, and stood a little taller than her. "Why would I want you to be afraid of me?"  
  
"If you don't shut up, YOU will be afraid of ME." She shouldered past him, leaving the boy to stare at her back. Rika continued on, just knowing that she would run into some trouble tonight. But then again, she liked trouble, especially when she caused it. It wasn't long before she ran into another couple of fools, the two talking about Digimon.  
  
"I bet I could get a date with her," the taller, lankier one boasted. He had brown hair and a golfer's visor on. "The Digimon King and Queen---me and her!"  
  
"That job's already taken!" the other, shorter boy laughed. He had untidy black hair and a pair of glasses. "Remember, Ryo Hakiyama's the Digimon King, and I heard he used to go out with the Queen."  
  
"Yeah, well, I'm gonna depose the King and get his girl for myself. Besides, no chick can resist me, especially her."  
  
"You know what? I think that if you look at her just right, her hairdo makes her head resemble a pineapple."  
  
"For real?" The two laughed, and Rika was able to catch a brief mental image of what a joke she would be if that got out. She strode towards the boys, and they noticed her, gaping in surprise.  
  
"No way, it's her!" Glasses said.  
  
"The Digimon Queen, Rika Nonaka!" Slim said.  
  
Rika grabbed them both and slammed them into the wall they stood near, holding them there. "Now what were you saying about me?" she growled.  
  
"We were just kidding!" Slim said. "Don't hurt us!"  
  
"Yeah, we're weaklings!" Glasses nodded.  
  
"If I ever hear you two talking trash about me again, I'll find you." She dropped them and they ran for it, vanishing around a street corner. Rika decided it was time to go home.  
  
When she got back, Renamon told her that the other women were asleep, and also said that they would be happy that she was fine. Rika simply nodded and went to bed, hardly caring that she was sleeping on the floor instead of in her coffin.  
  
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The following morning, some local kids were outside the Nonaka residence, talking amongst themselves. They were discussing the rumors about the Digimon Queen, and whether or not she was real.  
  
"Dude, she's a recluse to just stay inside all the time and never come out," one kid said.  
  
"She comes out," another protested. "Only she comes out at night, because she's a monster, and the night hides her gruesome appearance."  
  
"I hear she's a vampire," said a third.  
  
"Nuh-uh," said a fourth. "She's just hideously deformed, and her parents are so ashamed of her, they keep her locked in the basement all day. They only let her out at night so they can feed her fish heads."  
  
"No way!" the other three gasped.  
  
"I dare you to find her!" the second said to the first. "If you do, I'll give you five dollars."  
  
"Five bucks? Not a chance. If you agree to be my slave for the week, I'll say yes."  
  
"Not the whole week!"  
  
"Then YOU can go in their, Braveheart!"  
  
"Fine, but only ONE week!" the second agreed.  
  
"Yes!" the first said, doing a brief victory dance. "Anyone coming with me?" he asked. The fourth agreed to.  
  
The two boys snuck inside, carefully making sure they weren't seen. They spotted two women talking, presumably the Digimon Queen's mother and grandmother from how old the two women looked, and moved on. It didn't take them long to find Rika's room.  
  
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Renamon hated to leave her mistress, but Rika would be fine alone for a little bit, and Renamon needed to patrol the grounds, just to ease her nerves. Some gut instinct told her that there would be a problem today, and she never doubted her instincts.  
  
The small lake near Rika's room, she would have to spend more time watching it. It always made her feel relaxed and in control of herself. Renamon could cross it, but Rika always became sick whenever she tried, because vampires couldn't cross water, especially if it was moving. Ghosts had the same problem.  
  
Looking around, the magic-forged Digimon detected no danger, and proceeded to the next area.  
  
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"She needs friends, Rumiko," Seiko told her daughter. "Rika just isn't happy by herself. True, that Renamon we asked for is a godsend, but she isn't exactly Rika's type. She was made to be a bodyguard, not really a friend."  
  
"I know, Mom, but I can't find any girls who want to be friends with my vampire daughter," Rumiko replied. "And there aren't even any Goths around, either. You have to go overseas to find them. What's more, I don't even understand why Rika is a full vampire, instead of being half human. I wasn't bitten."  
  
"I myself can't figure it out either," Seiko confessed. "Perhaps we don't know as much about the occult and the supernatural as we profess to know."  
  
Rumiko sighed. "Maybe we'll get lucky and Rika will find a nice boy or something. You never know when life will drop a gift in your doorstep. It's too bad she doesn't show up in photos. I could have taught her everything about being a model."  
  
"The first vampire model, eh?" Seiko raised an eyebrow. "You want so much for your daughter to follow in your footsteps."  
  
"And why not? She's as beautiful as I was at her age---more so, even! True, Rika's head, with its current hairstyle, may resemble a pineapple, but at least she turns some heads."  
  
"I don't think we should say that about her. After all, she can't go out in the daylight like we can, and she has no reflection. The poor girl needs a friend, not pity or criticism."  
  
"If only we could find someone who was willing to take that position," Rumiko sighed wistfully.  
  
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"There she is!" the first boy whispered to the fourth. "She's actually a looker!"  
  
"Hey, I'll pay you to give her a kiss!" the fourth dared.  
  
"I got enough dares for one day. You do it."  
  
The fourth boy scowled and quietly crept into the room, watching Rika carefully. He admitted to himself that she was indeed good-looking, and maybe she would actually be friends with him, if she never found out about this.  
  
Rika moaned in her sleep and rolled onto her side, facing him. His stomach knotted as he imagined that she was really awake. And what was she doing sleeping during the day? Maybe she really was a vampire.  
  
"Psst!" the first boy hissed, pointing to the far side of the room. The fourth turned his head---and spotted the coffin lying on the floor, its black exterior glinting from the traces of light. The fourth gulped, leaning back---and the floorboards creaked.  
  
Rika's eyes snapped open instantly, and saw him first. She was on her feet in the blink of an eye, and she stumbled back, moving away from the rays of light. The boys could have sworn she looked terrified of the stuff.  
  
Rika opened her mouth and screamed for Renamon and her family.  
  
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Renamon was there instantly, her magical abilities allowing her to teleport from place to place. She saw the boys first, and then noticed the horrified vampire girl, cowering in the corner, keeping out of the sunlight. Renamon moved: She grabbed the two boys from behind and threw them out the door to Rika's room, slamming it shut.  
  
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"What are you two doing here?" Rumiko demanded as she pulled one boy up by the ear. "Trespassing is a crime!"  
  
"We were just looking around!" the other said. "We weren't going to steal anything!"  
  
"Get out, and don't come back!" Rumiko barked, tossing the two out her front gate. "If I ever see you two around here again, you and your families will be very sorry!"  
  
The boys ran home, all four of them. The two that had seen Rika told their parents, but the adults mostly thought that the stories were just that--- stories. At least they did, until the boys said that Mrs. Nonaka threatened and assaulted them. Angry parents stormed up to the Nonaka home the next morning.  
  
"Oh, it's YOU again," Rumiko said sourly, giving the boys baleful glares.  
  
"Now see here!" one parent said. "My son said that you grabbed him like a hoodlum!"  
  
"First of all, your precious son was trespassing on private property, and I had every right to throw him out," Rumiko responded coldly.  
  
"And what about this strange girl of yours?" another adult asked. "I was told that she went mad around these boys!"  
  
Rumiko's face changed. Being a talented model, she was perfectly capable of changing her mood at will. Right now, she made it appear that she was furious at the statement. "My daughter is deceased! I have no idea what your household THUGS were doing trying to desecrate her corpse or something!"  
  
The parents looked shocked, and then turned angry faces on their children. The boys looked worried that they had lost all credibility.  
  
"We'd like to see this coffin we were told about," one parent said. "If there's nothing more to it, then we can call it a night."  
  
"If it makes you go away," Rumiko sneered. She briskly led the group to her daughter's room and straight to the coffin. "We plan on burying her sometime this week, if everyone shows up." Opening the coffin, she showed the inert form of young Rika Nonaka. "Go ahead and touch her. She's dead, so I'm sure she won't mind."  
  
When one of the parents did so, the group concluded that Rika was indeed no longer among the living, and, scolding their children and apologizing to Rumiko and Seiko as they left, went back home.  
  
When the two older women reentered Rika's room, the girl was getting out of her sleeping place. "I can't believe you actually had them touch me," she said, disgusted. "Yuck, now I have that feeling all over my skin. I need to freshen up." She stalked off.  
  
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As she slept the next morning, Takato Matsuki awoke, getting ready for school and the terrible night to follow.  
  
Takato got to class ahead of time, and managed to talk to Kazu, Kenta, and Jeri for a while before Ms. Isaji began class.  
  
"All right everyone," she said. "We have a new student today. His name is Henry Wong, and I fully expect you to be nice top him, unlike the last newcomer."  
  
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AUTHOR: Well, that's the second chapter! Next up, Henry meets Takato, and maybe the two of them will meet Rika---of course, they could meet her separately, since she IS a vampire.  
  
Anyway, READ N REVIEW! I NEED TO KEEP WRITING GREAT FICS! 


	3. Hello!

Shadowed Friendship  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: If I ever get any more reviews, I'll say thanks.  
  
TO ShinigamiBlade: I want to thank you like a fanatical cult would praise a god---very much, that is. You really know how to make a guy feel appreciated! I can't say this WILL be a Rukato, but I will mess around with the pairings before ending everything, just to have some fun and provide some story and plot and all that.  
  
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Chapter 3: Hello!  
  
  
  
  
  
Henry Wong entered the classroom: He was a tall and slender youth with dark blue hair, the kind that would seem navy at night. He wore an orange vest over a dark brown-red shirt, the vest zipped up. Takato liked his vest, but didn't exactly know what to make of the rest of him. Ms. Isaji told Henry to take a seat next to Takato.  
  
As Henry sat, Takato smiled at him. "Welcome to Japan."  
  
"Thanks. I DID just say that I moved here from Hong Kong."  
  
"What's it like there?"  
  
"Crowded, but if you know how to live there, you'll be fine."  
  
Takato nodded, turning his attention---or what was left of it---back to the board. Ms. Isaji was talking about the importance of fractions again. "Fractions are your friends," she had said one day. "They can be good to you." Load of bullshit, Takato thought.  
  
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Henry eyed Takato with brief glances, taking him in carefully. The latter was smaller and more compact than Henry was, and didn't look like a fighter, but looks were deceiving. Henry held a brown belt in kung fu. He could do some damage if he tried.  
  
He wondered what that girl from the other night meant. She was capable of turning heads, Henry admitted to himself, with her unique hairdo and sweet looks. It really was a pity her manners left something to be desired. But then again, Henry's own little sister Susie was a bit of a mental patient.  
  
Before moving to Tokyo, Henry's father, Tao, had worked privately as a Hunter-Slayer. The work that gave you was hunting and killing all kinds of demonic creatures, from vampires to ghosts and regular monstrosities. Henry was deciding whether or not he should follow in his father's footsteps, because his old man had retired from hunting and had gotten a job as a software engineer.  
  
If Henry were lucky, he would get some demon action sooner or later in life. He preferred sooner, because that meant it would be done with sooner. Henry idly wondered if Takato or the girl from the streets were demons. Takato, unless he was using a magic spell or some incredible new sun block, clearly wasn't a vampire; the girl, however, had appeared very white and pale, with marble-like skin that gave away most every vampire. Takato could be a regular demon, or even a ghost, or---  
  
'Or you could stop being a total jerk and make some new friends, like your dad encouraged you to do,' he chided himself. He shook his head, trying to push away the nagging side of him, the side that always caused trouble. True, it was useful, but not now.  
  
"Do you want to come over sometime?" Henry asked Takato after classes ended. "My apartment isn't far from here."  
  
"Maybe," Takato said, smiling apologetically. "My parents don't give trust much, so I have to talk with them."  
  
"I understand."  
  
As Takato walked ahead, his friends Kazu and Kenta came over to Henry.  
  
"Dude, nice to meet you," Kazu said. "I think we have something to talk about."  
  
"Like?" Henry asked.  
  
"Well, Takato has a weird problem: Three days a month he comes in to class looking like he went ten rounds with a beer bottle. I'm not saying anything, but he might not get the best parental guidance he could have."  
  
"You mean his parents abuse him?" Henry gaped.  
  
"No, not that," Kenta said. "Tell him, Jeri."  
  
The girl stepped over. "It's true. Takato and I are always together, so I see it when it's there. He has dark circles under his eyes and he acts like he's about to pass out. His eyes are bloodshot, and he's very hungry and tired from lack of food."  
  
"Weirder still," Kazu added, "his parents own and run a small bakery. You'd think a kid like him would get a bite to eat."  
  
"I don't know," Henry said thoughtfully. "I met a girl the other night that looked like she was made from marble---literally. She had a pure white complexion. A vampire?"  
  
"Dude, there's no such thing as vampires," Kazu said flatly. "But WEREWOLVES are real."  
  
"And why do you say they're real and not vampires?" Henry asked pointedly.  
  
"Because Takato always gets tired during the full moon."  
  
"You are officially nuts," Kenta declared. "Takato, a werewolf. Don't make me laugh. There's no such thing as Japanese werewolves. And he's no fox-maiden, because those are only girls."  
  
"You mean like Jeri?" Kazu grinned. Jeri whacked him upside the head.  
  
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Henry took a walk around the park later, at dusk, thinking everything over.  
  
Takato was under suspicion of being a werewolf, Henry himself thought the street girl was a vampire, and the other students had crazy ideas. It was official, he decided, everyone's lost their minds.  
  
Night set quickly as he sat on a bench, rolling the thoughts over and over. 'If you could just get past the skepticism of others and see for yourself, then you would know what to do. Your dad always did, and look at the plush job he has now. You won't get that yourself if you don't get off your butt and start working for something.'  
  
He didn't hear the approach of a stranger. The soft rustle of leather on fabric was too quiet for him to notice, as steeped in thought as he was. He at first enjoyed the feeling of the cold hands, slender and smooth, tracing his neck and throat, and then running over his chest and feeling it. The acts made his pulse quicken, and he leaned back, just watching the hands work.  
  
Henry couldn't resist moaning as he arched his head back, his back also arching, the hands moving quicker---but not towards his waist. Instead, the cold, pure white hands moved towards his neck and throat, caressing them. Henry moaned again as his head lulled to one side---  
  
And Rika leaned forward, her mouth open and her "cute" little fangs ready to either turn the Chinese boy into another vampire or into a permanent corpse that stayed buried. Henry moaned a third time, his breathing almost ragged.  
  
The tips of her fangs bit into his skin...  
  
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AUTHOR: The third chapter, done for the night! It wasn't easy trying to remember when Henry saw Rika, but the two met before, and Rika also met Kazu and Kenta---and scared them stiff!  
  
READ N REVIEW, 'CAUSE I WANT MORE PRAISE FOR MY HARD WORK! 


	4. Night Frights Part One

Shadowed Friendship  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: Thanks for the reviews, few though they may be.  
  
TO tremor3258: What in the Unholy Crimson Heck is White Wolf angsting? I honestly don't know.  
  
TO Anime Master ZERO: What are Jenrya and Tommy Dawkins? I plan on mostly having Takato turn into a wolf with cranked up abilities, but I might change that later.  
  
TO Henrika: I will, as stated earlier, play around with the character pairings. After all, that means a lot more romantic struggling/interest, and that gets better stories/reviews! And I won't kill Henry, dear boy!  
  
TO Silent Angel: What about Takato and Rika? No offense whatsoever, but are you gay or something? I personally know a couple of lesbians, but I have never met any gays. Henry will have some issues to work out, that's all.  
  
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Chapter 4: Night Frights Part One  
  
  
  
  
  
Rika's eyes were like twin suns, blazing with combined pleasure and thirst. The foreign boy---she could tell he was from a place other than Japan by his scent---was extremely susceptible to his touch. He moaned and shuddered, completely under her powers of seduction.  
  
She didn't care about his name: Her primary concern was either his rebirth, as a vampire, or his death, as a mere mortal. Rika thought he was a born loser at first, but now that she had gotten him under her power, he was rather good-looking. His dark hair and sense of style pleased her.  
  
He moaned much loader as her fangs pricked his skin. Her pulse racing, but his still much faster than hers, she sank her fangs in all the way, ready to start drink up.  
  
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Henry's danger bells were blaring louder than ever before. He had met a witch once, who had almost seduced his father into marrying her and leaving Henry's mother. The witch had been sincere about her love, never lying about her emotions about Tao.  
  
She had been clever enough to seduce Henry's father, using a spell to dampen his judgment and hinder his efforts against her, but not for her. Henry had tried to stop her, but had only really helped his father arrest her after depriving her of her powers.  
  
This girl, the same girl from before, with her icy-cold heart and body, was doing the same to him as the witch had done to Tao.  
  
His mind back, he jerked away from her, his elbow cracking against her face and snapping her head back. She gave a cry of surprise, but didn't seem much hurt. Henry moved quickly away from her, reaching for a small cross, whatever good it would do him.  
  
"Who are you?" he demanded.  
  
The girl didn't answer, busy feeling her face and mouth for injuries. She widened her eyes as she pulled out a single fang. "You have any idea who long this is gonna take me to grow back?" she snarled in her shrill yet lovely voice.  
  
Henry didn't bother to answer her question. "Who are you?" he repeated.  
  
"I could have been your maker, but I guess that'll never happen now that you've just blown your chance."  
  
"You're a vampire," Henry said matter-of-factly, holding the small cross pendant tight.  
  
"You're not so perfect yourself," the girl retorted. "Look at you. It's not like I need to be murdered just to be stopped. The cops don't kill people for little reason, and YOU jerks consider yourselves above the law. You and your almighty code of honor. Ha, what a load of pure and utter bullshit."  
  
Henry stared at her. What the girl said was half-true: Hunter-Slayers DID tend to kill first and ask questions later, with no regard for the damage they caused, and they didn't care if they were wanted or needed. They simply went around like an organization of serial killers with the perpetual delusion of saving lives.  
  
The girl smiled maliciously when she saw she had hit a nerve. "What's the matter, lose your HEART?" she laughed. "Or maybe you WANT to lose it? Maybe you really crave to know what my kind is really like. Maybe you want to LIVE in the dark side of the world."  
  
Henry shook the thoughts from his head. Something was howling in the distance, like a demon. "I don't intend to die tonight."  
  
"But that's just it: You don't die; you're REBORN. I admit, you seemed like a jerk when I first met you, but you could be quite good to have around later. Join me."  
  
Something in her voice reached for him. He wanted to know what she was really like, but knew he would have to pay the highest of prices: His immortal soul. Vampires had no reflection because the mirror did not reflect their souls. A zombie, the living dead, could be seen in a mirror, but vampires had nothing worth reflecting.  
  
It scared Henry something terrible to have a dark desire, the dark desire to BE a vampire like the girl.  
  
The girl seemed to sense this. "See you later. Why don't you think about my little offer? I'll be back for the answer sometime."  
  
***********************************************************  
  
Takato's parents had taken every precaution as usual, but their son was howling like never before. He seemed to sense that there was a terrible occurrence outside of the home, but Mr. Matsuki hadn't found anything.  
  
Baying as loudly as possible, the small wolf howled again, ignoring the walls and door. Takato, deep inside, was asleep, dreaming of nothing but sweet, warm darkness. It refreshed him no end when he slept like this, even though he looked and felt terrible the next day.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
In the morning, Takato was let out and cleaned himself up, getting clothed and ready for school. He rode his bicycle and met with Kazu, who had also come early.  
  
"Dude, you sick again?" Kazu asked.  
  
"It came back," Takato said. He had a family-made lie going around that he got a recurring stomach virus. He was healthy enough to keep in school, but still appeared sick.  
  
Kazu merely shrugged and the two went inside, talking about the tournament they had attended. The Digimon Queen had mopped the floor with the competition, using easy tactics that took everyone apart with fluid skill, ease, and grace. Takato had paid extreme attention to the movements and techniques, hoping to become good enough to beat her one day.  
  
Rika Nonaka, the Digimon Queen. Somehow, his gut growled at the thought. It was as though she were a mortal enemy of his, and not some high-status girl. He guessed it was only his monthly change's aftereffects. He was hungry as always, and decided to eat a sandwich.  
  
Henry arrived before anyone else, and joined Kazu and Takato. The youth appeared quite shaken. His eyes darted here and there, and his skin was pale. Takato could faintly smell a hint of death on his skin.  
  
"Dude, what happened to you?" Kazu asked.  
  
"I ran into this girl I saw when I got here, the night before I came to school. She attacked me. I don't even think she was human."  
  
"You're kidding?" Takato said, still eating his turkey sandwich. It was a little dry.  
  
"No, I'm not. I managed to knock a fang loose. She wasn't very happy for that."  
  
"A fang?" Kazu was skeptical. "Dude, you are crazier than catfish."  
  
"I'd like to see you tell HER that," Henry challenged.  
  
"Oh yeah? What's this girl look like?"  
  
"Leather jacket, broken blue heart on a white shirt---"  
  
"Wait a minute! You talking about the Digimon Queen?" Kazu's face was white. "Dude, she threatened me and Kenta on the streets when we were talking about dating her."  
  
Henry gaped at him. "This place is full of monsters! Vampires and werewolves---!"  
  
Takato doubled over and coughed, almost spitting out his mouth's contents. When he had settled down, he asked, "Werewolves?"  
  
Henry paused, unsure of what to say. He couldn't tell Takato that the others thought the boy a werewolf, but he couldn't lie either.  
  
Jeri stepped into the cafeteria. "Hi! Whatcha doing?"  
  
"Just talking about the tournament we went to," Kazu lied quickly. "It's nothing a GIRL would be interested in."  
  
Jeri went red and spun on her heel, exiting fast. The boys breathed a sigh of relief. They headed to class, hoping Jeri wouldn't get them all in detention.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Renamon watched Rika sleeping. The girl seemed so helpless. But the surface was a lie, and Rika's family and victims could attest to that.  
  
After a moment, the magical Digimon vanished, teleporting to the top of telephone pole a mile away from the Nonaka household. She sat there, pondering over what would happen if Rika ever found someone. Renamon had scented the smell of a boy on Rika's clothes. He was young, Renamon smelled, and had a pure taste to his scent. That sort of thing meant that he would make a good husband.  
  
The bad news was that Rika was a vampire, while the boy was a human. Hybrids were avoided at all costs, since they almost always went mad, their souls being torn out of and put back in their bodies by the powers of light and dark.  
  
"Hey, good-lookin'!" a nasal voice sneered in greeting. Renamon turned her head slightly to see Impmon out of the corner of her eye. "Fancy seeing you here, what with your human-guardin' duties an' all."  
  
Renamon disliked the annoying little creature. Impmon took his name to spite humans through their Digimon Card Game. In truth, Impmon was really a hobgoblin, a mischievous little entity that lived to cause mortals nuisance.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"The direct approach, I like that in a woman. Anyway, I was thinkin' 'bout you and that human---"  
  
"Rika is a vampire," Renamon corrected sharply.  
  
"---and I thought, 'Why, the two of them could be worth havin' around.' So I decided to arrange for a little talk between you an' me. That way, you get to see what kind of fun we could all have if we worked together. What do you say?"  
  
"I was not made to cause childish mischief," Renamon said flatly.  
  
"Childish!" Impmon was indignant.  
  
"I was created to protect my charge, and I will do just that." Renamon left, ignoring his shouts and curses.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Rika's mother nestled her daughter in her arms as she sang softly. The vampire girl was sleeping, and Rumiko was using that time to catch up on things. Rika should have been given at least a brief time as a human, but had somehow been born a full vampire.  
  
Seiko was out in the city, shopping for some stuff---namely herbs and books on magic and monsters. Perhaps they would find something one day. Rumiko smiled as Rika sniffled and hugged closer to the older woman's body. The girl was ice-cold, but Rumiko didn't mind.  
  
**************************************************************  
  
Mr. Matsuki carried Takato, who had fallen asleep while doing his homework, up the stairs and into the youngster's room. There were still a few hours of daylight left, so it didn't matter.  
  
In the room, Takato was tucked into bed, his favorite stuffed toy, Guilmon, held tightly to his body. Takato's parents had given him the toy when he was six, and Takato had always cherished it.  
  
"It'll only last ten more years; it stopped when I was twenty," Mrs. Matsuki said to her husband. "Takato will grow out of it."  
  
"I think he's a much more adorable werewolf than you are," the husband joked.  
  
Mrs. Matsuki straddled him. "Don't start with me. Takato gets his half from me, and your half as well. The children are always the sum of the parents' halves."  
  
"I know," he grinned, pulling her down onto him.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
Henry had enough to worry about without telling his parents he met a vampire, one that had tried to turn him, no less. His mother was busy with the dishes; Susie was strangling her stuffed doll, Terriermon; Henry's dad was working on a program; and Henry himself had homework.  
  
He sighed and pulled out his math book. God, he hated math. His favorite subject was History, but he hardly ever learned as much as he wanted to.  
  
A sudden thought: 'Vampires have an indefinite lifespan, and can see countless ages of history.'  
  
Henry stopped breathing for a moment, the thought having rocked him. He knew his curiosity was working to make him see that becoming a vampire might be a wonderful thing, and it frightened him. His curiosity would only argue that vampires wouldn't be afraid like he was, and he would believe that lie.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Jeri's mother eyed her daughter carefully. "Not human, you say. Like us, maybe?"  
  
Jeri smiled even wider and nodded. "He smells different. And so did the Chinese boy from Hong Kong. He smelled dead."  
  
Mrs. Kato's eyes narrowed. "A zombie?" she asked, lip curled in a hateful sneer.  
  
Jeri shook her head. "Too faint to be his. He might have met a night creature."  
  
"It's a good thing we're not like THEM," the older female sneered, sounding disgusted at the mention of the other creatures. "Do you love him?" she asked Jeri, dead serious.  
  
Jeri nodded. "Yes. He always caught my eyes, both of them. But we may be a little too close for comfort."  
  
"I can fix that," Mrs. Kato grinned.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: Fourth chapter is done at last! I need to divide my time better, since I'm doing another fic along with this at once!  
  
For another Digimon story, I plan on having the First Season fight the Second Season, when the FS become the new Dark Masters!  
  
READ N REVIEW, PEOPLE! ME NEED REVIEWS TO WRITE BIZZARO FICS! (No, I don't like Bizzaro) 


	5. Guilty Conscience

Shadowed Friendship  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: Thanks for the great reviews, even though I always say this! Here's another great chapter!  
  
TO Rika Wong: Maybe I'll have two endings, just to make everybody smile. A fox-maiden is a supernatural figure, much like a werewolf, but is almost never evil or vicious. She sleeps with a man every three of four days, so that he does not get spirit sickness, and is fully capable of having some kids. These girls are all over Chinese lore.  
  
TO Henrika: Sorry about the girl/guy thing, but I was trying to be straightforward. After all, I can't keep referring to "him" and then switch to "her", with both people being the same person. I only held that one tournament at night, b/c Rika is a vampire.  
  
TO Raven: Since I doubt that I will ever see that show, maybe you could just tell me or something. But thanks anyway for the extremely great review!  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 5: Guilty Conscience  
  
  
  
  
  
Rika sat on the roof of a building, watching all the humans pass by on the crowded streets, and thought. The boy had been so close to being turned, or killed, and she had screwed the job. Damn. She intended to find the boy and put some more moves on him, maybe even any good-looking brothers in his house, but she had to find him first.  
  
A new scent, one significantly different from a human's, grabbed her attention.  
  
Rika turned her head this way and that, sniffing, trying to find a better whiff---and got it. The new scent was feral, and had the tinge of extreme frustration on it. Obviously, someone was mad out there, and that someone was a werewolf. Rika had smelled a couple of them before, but had never met one.  
  
Well, there was a first time for everything, and she had a sinister smile on her face as she got to her feet, heading for the stairs to the streets. She decided to find this werewolf and have some fun, whoever it was.  
  
**************************************************************  
  
"Third day gone," Mrs. Matsuki said. "Finally. I hope the door's okay, or we'll have to fix it."  
  
"It's fine," her husband said. "I checked it out quite thoroughly when I brought that talking melonhead to his room."  
  
"That talking melonhead is our family secret," Mrs. Matsuki reminded him. "It will only be another ten years."  
  
"You said that last night."  
  
"And I mean it. The curse wears off after twenty years. I didn't even need help putting him in the old pen we had for him when he was a pup. But he seems distracted now, not worried about his transformations as much."  
  
"He told me about some new kid in school. Some boy from Hong Kong called Henry Wong. Hey, that rhymes."  
  
"Let's hope little Henry will be safe from any other night creatures out there. I saw a news report about two teenagers who had their necks punctured last night."  
  
***************************************************************  
  
Henry hardly ate at breakfast, thinking about the vampire girl. He KNEW he had seen her face before, but couldn't recall where.  
  
He had tried to ask his dad if he remembered anything, but Tao merely acted confused at the request. Mrs. Wong (AN: What's her name on the show?) told Henry it was nice he met a girl, although this possible future lover was a tad aggressive, with the hickies and all. Henry had resigned himself to his room, waiting until Tao and Mom left. Susie was at a new friend's house, the little monster.  
  
'Monster. Funny you should use that word to describe something that's related to you, when you almost became a monster by MEETING one,' his dark side said in his mind.  
  
"Shut up. I don't---"  
  
'Don't what?' the voice asked. 'You wanted to become as inhuman as that vampire is, and you know it. She awakened a deeper side of me---of you--- and I AM you, Henry Wong.'  
  
"You're just one side of me. That doesn't make you me."  
  
'You think so? You're wrong. I'm as much a part of you as your family is, in your heart and mind and soul itself. I am everything you want to be--- that you crave to be---but don't have the GUTS to be!'  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
'Can't handle the truth, can you? It burns away your precious shield of lies, doesn't it?'  
  
"I'm content to be a human!"  
  
'You're as much a killer as your father is!' his dark side shot back. Henry said nothing; the dark side of his essence had hit a powerful mark. 'You tried to hurt that witch, and your father all but killed her. Now, you try to use that cross on a vampire who may love you, who may want to show you your TRUE nature, and you CAN'T DO IT! You can't give in to the truth, CAN YOU?'  
  
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Henry snapped angrily. Hen realized he was standing in a room of thrown-about papers, his own deed. In his ire, he had destroyed part of his father's study.  
  
'Temper, temper,' his dark side mocked as it vanished into his subconscious again.  
  
Sighing, Henry began to clean up the mess, wary of a paper cut.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Jeri Kato checked the phases and dates again, making sure she was correct.  
  
She was, and knew now for a fact that she had just proven Takato Matsuki, her crush, a werewolf. The airhead was handsome, and could be a highly useful person. He had some other likeable qualities, ones that Jeri intended to exploit.  
  
The girl smiled. The scent Takato had carried with him after his first night as a werewolf this month had briefly surprised her, because she hadn't recalled he could smell so WILD. But then she reveled in his feral smell during the full moon. She herself had a little secret, but it was fully under her control.  
  
Mrs. Kato had been out at the market, picking up some items for the family's restaurant, and Jeri told her everything when she got back. The mother was seemingly pleased with the news, and told Jeri to see what else she could find on Takato's little secret. After all, werewolves weren't very common in Japan.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
"Is that your best shot?" Kazu mocked, Kenta laughing. "I've had more luck with girls than you have hitting a sitting duck!"  
  
The hobgoblin, Impmon, became even angrier at the snide remark and sent another fireball at the two boys.  
  
Only Kazu and Kenta weren't boys anymore: Theirs ears pointed, their fingernails pointed, their canines pointed but nothing compared to Rika's (theirs were only sharp-tipped, not much for a set of fangs), the two youths had revealed themselves as a couple of the weakest demons, half- human hybrids that even the Devil hardly gave a rat's ass about.  
  
The fireball shot by as Kazu sidestepped smoothly. Kenta snorted at the purple shrimp. "You have got to be the worst shot I have ever seen. Worse at causing trouble than Kazu is at winning Digimon tournaments!"  
  
"Hey, I resent that!" Kazu said, chucking a crumpled up soda can at Impmon. The hobgoblin knocked it aside. "Wow, it can hit tin cans!"  
  
"Shut up!" Impmon snapped.  
  
The demons only laughed as he charged them.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Rika had searched all night, and it was morning now. She had slept for most of the day, brooding in her sleep about the failure of her search for the Chinese boy. She had awoken, still angry about her failure, and had decided to talk with her family.  
  
Seiko had come to Rika's room when Renamon requested Seiko's presence. The old woman sat across from Rika, both on their knees on the floor. In the darkness, Rika seemed more a ghost than a vampire.  
  
"Grandma, have you ever found someone and had to find them again?"  
  
Seiko smiled. "Once, I did find a boy that really made my heart race. He only ran into me in the marketplace, and we never met after that, though I searched days for him. Why do you ask?"  
  
"I met someone."  
  
Seiko's eyes glittered. "A nice boy, maybe?"  
  
"Hardly. A tried to drain him and maybe turn him, but he caught on when I pricked him and he used a cross on me. I think that he maybe interested in becoming a vampire, or just loving me, and me him, but I don't think either of us are sure."  
  
Seiko moved closer to Rika, putting a hand on her granddaughter. "Rika, maybe this boy you like is just confused. He might have trouble believing a vampire, of all things, capable of human love."  
  
Rika shrugged. "There's something else. I smelled a wild scent last night, a werewolf's scent. I might have picked up on something else along with it, but I couldn't tell much difference, both had a wild smell to them."  
  
"Did you have any luck finding this werewolf?"  
  
"No. I didn't find any trace of anything."  
  
"Don't worry, Rika." Seiko got to her feet and patted Rika's shoulder. "You'll find the right person someday."  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Takato was slightly nervous for some reason as Jeri Kato came into his family's small bakery. She usually picked up some rolls and maybe a donut, but this time she came for HIM.  
  
At first, Mr. Matsuki had tried to make her go away for a while, giving Takato more bed rest. But Jeri had said she would wait, forcing Takato to come see her. Jeri wanted to go for a walk with him, maybe talk for a bit, and Takato had to do it like a gentleman.  
  
She took him to the park, talking about all the mysterious and alluring world of the monstrosities created by man: Vampires and ghosts and werewolves...  
  
Takato winced at the last one, but was sure Jeri hadn't seen him do so.  
  
To herself, Jeri inwardly smiled. She had just proven herself further. Takato was giving himself away to her, and without him knowing it! She would lure him into the church before long...  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Henry's parents and sister came home to finds him asleep on the couch. Tao shook his head when he examined his study, noticing some of the items were misplaced but close enough. Henry's temper would prove his undoing one day.  
  
"He's in bed now," his wife said. "He looked angry. Do you think he'll be fine?"  
  
"He'll be all right. Henry has always given in to his anger from time to time, but he'll learn. Maybe he met someone that made him think." (AN: He doesn't know how right he is!)  
  
Mrs. Wong nodded and got Susie some cookies, watching the girl play with Terriermon doll. Tao shook his head again. 'Henry's going to cause himself more problems if he doesn't get rid of his anger.'  
  
Later that night, Henry woke up, thinking about the vampire girl. His dark side was not bothering him, and he was glad for it. Henry wondered whether he would find the girl and kill her...or worse, LOVE HER.  
  
He scowled and got to his feet. 'Maybe my other half is right: Maybe I DO want to revel in the shadows I deny myself. Maybe I really do want to be "the bad guy". It's possible, since humans have light and dark in their souls.'  
  
Henry scowled again as he went to bed, never noticing the eyes staring at him, the cool and misty colors watching his every swirl of lovely red blood, hidden behind skin but not invisible to these eyes.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: I hope everyone liked that chapter. I meant to update sooner, but I had some trouble with my connection, so I couldn't. SO SORRY!  
  
SEND ME YOUR REVIEWS, DIGIFOOLS! (NO OFFENSE INTENDED) 


	6. Night Frights Part Two

Shadowed Friendship  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: Thanks for the really swell reviews, friends! They really do help a guy out when he needs it!  
  
TO Raven: Thanks a bundle for the info on that Institute you mentioned. I can tell you right now that Jeri's family is NOT like that. They got their own thing goin'.  
  
TO Anime Master ZERO: Thanks; I'll probably use that tip in this very chapter! As for ol' Ryo---he always has, always will, and is at this very moment in MY Fanfiction world, burning/burn/burned in Hell. I couldn't bring myself to do anything more than put a bullet in his head in my entire life.  
  
TO Black: I may have issues myself, but from your review, you sounded like you have a split personality (NO OFFENSE INTENDED!). You're a tough customer to please. Thanks for the review, and as for Jeri---read and find out, even if it's in another chapter.  
  
TO Henrika: I don't intend for anyone to find out what Jeri is until either some nut with a huge I.Q. comes along and cracks the case, or until I reveal it, whichever happens first.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 6: Night Frights Part Two  
  
  
  
  
  
Rika stood on the side of the building, perpendicular to the structure, and stared through the window at Henry's sleeping form. She wondered what to do next, since she now knew where to find him. Of course, knowing where he lived really meant little at this point, since she could not enter his home without permission. She had always hated that rule.  
  
Rika had pondered over and over what Henry would be like as a vampire. He wasn't as pale as she was, but that would change when he turned. He would have the classic Dracula Look to him: Tall, dark, suave...Rika had "melted" because of him, and if he were a vampire, countless human girls would do the same thing. Maybe even some boys too, since there were homosexuals here and there.  
  
Taking a deep breath during a rush of wind, she tried to imagine what it would be like for the two of them to be together: She would have to eventually have kids, to satisfy her curiosity and give some "legacy"; Henry would bring the "check" home, a check made of human blood...  
  
'The scent!' It was that same wild scent she had picked up again, the werewolf's scent! Her luck was getting better: A nice boy, a werewolf, and maybe something in the works.  
  
Rika's happy thoughts turned to wild glee as she imagined what she could do to a werewolf in a psychotic state of mind: Rend his limbs, drink him dry, rip him to shreds.  
  
Laughing softly to herself, she fell away from the building, a thirty-story straight-down drop, already turning into a bat. In his mind, Henry heard a girl's laughter, but slept on.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Jeri was making him nervous. Takato had never been good with girls, being at the young age where the two human sexes disliked each other because they were different. Boys to boys, girls to girls (AN: NO hentai, please).  
  
Jeri was REALLY, REALLY enjoying his company, making comments about how she always liked him but never said anything, about how he always spied on her from the corner of his eye... Gods, he was sweating bullets, praying she didn't know anything.  
  
Takato blinked as he abruptly recalled the sudden change of subject. Only minutes ago, Jeri had STILL been talking about monsters, but now she was talking more like romance. Takato swore he was losing his marbles. He noticed Jeri staring at him.  
  
"What? Do I have snot hanging from my nose or something?" he asked.  
  
"No," Jeri said slyly. "You just fascinate me." She could tell that he was REALLY creeped out by her staring.  
  
"Uh, okay," Takato said slowly. Maybe Jeri had already lost HER marbles? Jeri suddenly advanced on him, pinning him to the wall. "Jeri?" he asked worriedly.  
  
"Oh, Takato," she said, staring deep into his rosy-pink eyes. "I really want to be with you. Maybe you can say the same thing." She leaned in slowly, making him sweat as she moved to kiss.  
  
But just as she was about to make contact, someone tapped her on the shoulder. Takato breathed a Herculean sigh of relief as his "friend" scowled and turned her head to peer over her shoulder, looking angry.  
  
"What do YOU want?" Jeri asked the newcomer, glaring.  
  
Rika Nonaka grabbed Jeri by the shoulders, pulled her own head back, and gave Jeri a solid headbutt. There was a smack as their skulls contacted, and Jeri simply stared for a second before crumpling to the ground. Takato gaped in fear, eyes flicking from his weird friend to the pale girl. In fact, she was almost TOO pale...  
  
Then it hit him: The dead smell he scented, the telltale pallor, the sinister gleam in the eyes---this girl was a vampire! And being a vampire's mortal enemy, he was screwed.  
  
"YOU," Rika said, addressing Takato, "must be the werewolf I've been picking up for the past few nights. I have to admit, Gogglehead, you made me work to find you. I hate work." She began cracking her knuckles menacingly.  
  
Takato gulped, and then stood straighter. "Look, I didn't do anything to you, and neither did my, uh, girlfriend, so could you please just---?"  
  
"What's the matter?" Rika said. "Afraid to take a beating? This is my city, puppy-dog, and it's high time you learned that golden rule." Rika was wondering whether or not she should do the same to him as she had done to that Ryo Hakiyama boy. He had fallen in love with her from a distance, and had found her and confessed his emotions to her. In return, she played puppet master and toyed with him until she ripped his stomach out, and had eaten and drank him to nothing. It had been so much FUN! (AN: I told you all I hate Ryo!)  
  
Takato was a tad too nervous to force a transformation. He was dead meat, and he knew it.  
  
Jeri, though, was starting to wake up.  
  
Rika sneered. "Get up, shrimp. I want you to watch me kill your little puppy dog." She laughed cruelly. "I bet you never even knew he was a---"  
  
Takato popped his claws and tackled Rika sending the two of them into---and through---a bench. The wood shattered and Rika snarled in fury. She HATED screwing up.  
  
"Jeri, run and get some help or something!" Takato said, slashing Rika across the face. He was barely hurting her, his on-a-human gashes more like cuts that are not much more than thin red lines that heal. Rika the vampire psychopath was simply much stronger than he was, and he wasn't going to win.  
  
Jeri, knowing she could tip the tables, ran, planning even as she did so. She could feel herself changing even as she rounded the corner out of sight of the combatants, dropping forward and moving even faster with her true form.  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
"I'll give you two points for trying, but that was honestly a bad idea," Renamon said, holding Kazu by the scruff of his neck. "What were you planning to do with Impmon?"  
  
"What's it to ya?" Kazu sneered.  
  
"Wrong answer." Renamon punched him in the gut, and he coughed up more blood. "Well?"  
  
"We were just going to mess him up, nothing much," Kazu said. "Not like we were gonna kill him or something."  
  
"That would have made me angry."  
  
"Why?" Kazu said, and Kenta could feel the other demon's sick humor surfacing. "He your midget lover or something?"  
  
Renamon's eyes flashed as she snapped Kazu's neck with the hand holding him up, and then let his body drop; it hit the pavement with a sickening crack- thud of bones and organs. Kenta simply stared at his best friend's corpse, shocked stupid.  
  
Renamon helped Impmon up and vanished, saying nothing else.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
"Where could that boy be?" Mrs. Matsuki scowled. "Doesn't he know he's supposed to have Jeri home and be back here before long?"  
  
"That was the statement given by Takato's mother, shortly before her intellectual husband reminded her that Takato would be taking Jeri to the park AND that her house is in another section of town," Mr. Matsuki said, reporter-style.  
  
His wife whacked him on the back of the head. "None of that. Takato has a curfew, moon or no moon. He better be in the door in twenty minutes, or I'm getting him myself."  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
"I wonder whether or not he enjoys hurting other people and lies about it," Mrs. Kato mused to herself. She was looking over all the notes Jeri had taken on Takato. Earlier, she had laughed herself hoarse when she thought what would happen if Takato and Jeri got hitched and the boy took Jeri's last name. Takato Kato, now THAT was funny!  
  
The younger female was competent, having been carefully raised by a competent mother, and would get just what was needed. Jeri did, after all, have strong feeling for Takato, but the boy would be surprised to learn about the Kato family's own little secret.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
"Is that it?" Rika asked. She connected with a right cross, knocking the feral boy off her. "I've met insurance salesmen scarier than you are!"  
  
"Funny. Too bad I can actually see how deformed I get, unlike you."  
  
"Oh, I'm REALLY hurt." Rika brushed the dirt off her leather jacket as she got to her feet. "You know, I'm debating whether or not to suck you dry or just kill you. But I can ask you a simpler question: Burial or cremation?"  
  
"I prefer burial, but it's really my parents' choice. Hey, I've seen you before!"  
  
"You just figured me out?" Rika snickered.  
  
"The Digimon Queen, Rika Nonaka. When did you become a vampire?"  
  
"Since I was born. My mother met someone. Oh, and I you DO somehow live through this---which I severely doubt will happen---could you keep this all between us? I DO know how to find you, and I can expose your secret."  
  
"I guess we can keep quiet about this." He leapt at her, but she merely jabbed forward with inhuman speed, nailing him in the throat. He fell to the ground, coughing.  
  
"Pathetic." Rika pulled out a small silver pendant shaped like a sword, one made of pure silver. She pressed it against Takato's forehead and it burned, making him scream as wisps of smoke appeared. He jerked away, a gruesome, red burn wound marring his forehead. It seemed that silver had the same effect on werewolves that garlic and the rest had on vampires.  
  
Rika smiled as she moved towards him. Takato pushed with his mind, his face lengthening into a snout. Rika chuckled and kept coming, waving the pendant---when something else tackled her. Both vampire and newcomer were sent to the ground, and Rika rolled to her feet, glaring at the interloper.  
  
"You have GOT to be kidding me!"  
  
The new fighter was a fox, its red coat with white underside practically glowing. The fox growled at Rika, hate in its eyes. The vampire leapt, pendant held out to touch the fox, but the creature merely moved to the side and Rika fell onto her stomach.  
  
"Hold still!" she said just before a fully transformed Takato clamped his teeth into her arm. Rika eyes were alive with pure hate, and she whacked the werewolf across the snout with the pendant, but he wouldn't let go. For a young boy, Takato had the size of a large wolf, his gray coat shining beautifully like the fox's.  
  
Rika hit him again just as the fox bit her leg, teeth sinking into her thigh. Unable to cope with two foes at once, the vampire twisted and broke free, taking flight as a bat again.  
  
Takato watched her leave, and then noticed the fox had gone as well. He was changing back, his furry pelt submerging under and into his skin and clothes. He was cut and burned, but would live.  
  
Jeri suddenly appeared from around the corner, carrying a bottle of water. "I got some holy water!" she called.  
  
"She's gone!" Takato informed her. "She ran away."  
  
"What? That's strange." Jeri helped him stand, and together they began limping to the nearest hospital. "Why are you burnt?" she asked.  
  
"The vampire used some sort of superheated piece of machinery on me," Takato lied. "I'll be fine."  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
Needless to say, both Takato's parents and Jeri's parents were shocked and outraged by the news. Some homicidal maniac girl had attacked the children, and such a thing was intolerable. Takato lied to the police sketch artist, Jeri doing the same for some reason, and the assailant ended up looking like a midget Barbara Streisand.  
  
Takato noticed that Mrs. Kato was really enjoying Mrs. Matsuki's presence, taking deep breaths through her nose and never looking away from her, except to briefly glance at a fixed-up Jeri. It made Takato wonder, 'Does she even love her own child?'  
  
Both families were cautious until the next morning, knowing the truth of the matter once in the privacy of their own homes. The Katos, however, knew the truth about the Matsukis, but not vice versa, compliments of Jeri.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
"You've been fighting again, I see," Rumiko said to her daughter as Rika was walking past the family room to her bedroom. "Who was it this time?"  
  
"Some loser werewolf and a fox with an attitude problem."  
  
"A fox? I don't see how."  
  
"Neither do I, but it was there."  
  
"Do NOT get smart with ME, young lady," Rumiko warned. "Vampire nothing, you are my daughter, and I won't allow that tone of voice."  
  
"Sorry," Rika grumbled. "But that's the truth. A fox and werewolf ganged up on me when I found them."  
  
"You sound unsure of yourself."  
  
"I found the werewolf and some girl, and the fox must have been planning to have them for dinner when I showed up." Rika shrugged. "Doesn't really matter."  
  
"Renamon had some trouble today, so be nice to her."  
  
Rika nodded and went to her room. When she got in, she found Renamon cradling Impmon's bruised and bandaged form.  
  
"A couple of half-demons," Renamon said, not looking at Rika. "And you?"  
  
"A werewolf and some fox that found me. What about these two demons?"  
  
"HALF-DEMONS," Renamon corrected. "They are hybrids, born of a demon and a human set of parents. The two found Impmon and attacked him. He managed to hold his own until I noticed the commotion. One of the two is dead."  
  
"I wonder if I'll run into the other one," Rika grinned. "He needs a lesson."  
  
"Being a vampire, you have a significant amount of power he will not have. The hybrid will be easy to kill."  
  
"Good, because I need to work of some emotions." Rika climbed into her coffin and crossed her arms, hands in the traditional vampire-sleep look (AN: You know, when they sleep in the coffin with their hands on the chest in that one way).  
  
Renamon watched over the house all night, not sleeping until morning.  
  
********************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: Finally got that one done! Man, it is HARD working on 3 fics at once, but I can do it if I try! My other two fics are X-Men: Evolution, and one is pretty damn funny!  
  
READ N REVIEW, DIGIDESTINED WANNABES! 


	7. Tormented

Shadowed Friendship  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: Thanks for all the reviews! Only 4 more and this fic will tie with my best-selling X-Men: Evolution fic, which has 28 reviews! Keep 'em coming!  
  
TO Rika Wong: You are most welcome about the information on the fox-maiden.  
  
TO Black: I like you and you buddy's attitudes about my death of Ryo (the little prick). I can't say anything about Jeri, though, since that's all secret!  
  
TO Anime Master ZERO: Thanks for the info; I NEVER heard anything like that, honest! Also, maybe I'll give Takato brown fur, like his hair or something. I only put gray because it came to mind.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
Chapter 7: Tormented  
  
  
  
  
  
"I REALLY hate that stupid Renamon," Kazu hissed as his parents carried the stretcher up the stairs. Kenta was following further down, watching his best friend.  
  
"I know. You think she could keep her nose out of our business---"  
  
"Maybe if you hadn't picked a fight with that hobgoblin, you wouldn't be in this mess!" Kazu's stepfather said. The man was human, but easily intimidated both hybrids with his muscular tone (AN: I have NO idea what the boys' parents look like. I just make them up, okay?)  
  
"Oh, shut up," Kazu grumbled, wishing he could scratch the itch under his neck brace. Kenta hated to imagine what it would be like to have one.  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
"Henry, wake up, or you'll be sorry," Mayumi Wong (AN: Thanks again, Rika Wong!) said to her son, shaking him (AN: Not like that mother did, though).  
  
"All right, all right, I'm up," Henry said groggily as he raised his head from the pillow, and then put it right back down. "In five more minutes."  
  
"You have chores, so get up. And you also have martial arts practice, remember?"  
  
Henry scowled and got up, much to his body's desire to sleep in. That vampire girl was making him go insane, and sending his dark side into a feeding frenzy over the new events of late.  
  
Henry took a shower and got dressed, getting his gi (AN: He wore it in that one episode, during the Devas' villain time) and hurriedly ate breakfast. His father quickly drove him, and then left for work; Henry could take care of himself after the session.  
  
The sensei had Henry work out heavily, making the youth attack and defend at the same time. It made Henry's sweat glands work overtime, and the youth was drenched when he had finished. The sensei always gave a good lesson, and sometimes more.  
  
"Sensei, have you ever met someone that made you go practically mad?" Henry knew it was an odd question (AN: And I know I really hate awkward conversations like these) but he had to ask (AN: And I have to write).  
  
"I must admit no, but go on if this person is bothering you so."  
  
Henry gathered his thoughts on the vampire girl he had become somewhat obsessed with. "Well, I met this girl who tried to give me a hickie, but I sort of declined, and she said some things that have lately been driving me up the wall and across the ceiling. I keep thinking about her, but I honestly don't know if I love her." (AN: And I honestly think I will do a double-ending---Takato-Rika/Henry-?, and Takato-Jeri/Henry-Rika)  
  
"From what you say, Henry, maybe you do, but you feel unsure of yourself. What is this girl like?"  
  
"A bit psychopathic, but otherwise normal enough."  
  
"I...see. Perhaps she is merely making YOU play hard to get. She might be shy herself, but wants to be the aggressor this time around."  
  
"I guess that sounds right."  
  
"Think about her if it helps, since she is the root of your dilemma. You will find the answer soon enough."  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Takato smiled and laughed nervously when Jeri Kato showed up at his home again. It wasn't as if he had to be afraid for her, because the moon was far enough off, but he wondered if she had seen him---  
  
'No way. Only Rika and that fox saw me. Rika won't spill the beans if I don't, and the fox isn't going to talk to anyone.' He smiled again. "The park again? Sure."  
  
Jeri smiled, her satisfaction's full depth known only to her. Takato would find out soon enough, but until he did, she needed to keep quiet. As for that "pest" her mother had cursed about when they had gotten home last night...well, that wouldn't be a problem much longer.  
  
"You know, Takato, we need to spend more time together," Jeri said. Her mother had told her to act a little aggressively when dealing with shy boys.  
  
"Huh?" Takato gaped.  
  
"We only talk in school, and that's hardly enough," Jeri continued. "You're a nice boy, I'm a nice girl, what more to it is there? I know you've probably had a dream or two about me---"  
  
'Yeah, one where you're running in circles and barking like a dog,' Takato thought, remembering the nightmare he got from eating an entire cheesecake by himself.  
  
"---But I know I've had dreams about YOU." She leaned on him seductively, like her mother had suggested. "You have such lovely eyes..."  
  
"Um, Jeri, maybe you shouldn't lean so far (AN: over the railing!) onto me," Takato said nervously. "And I did have a dream about you, but it was more like a nightmare."  
  
"Oh, Takato, you're such a kidder!" Jeri laughed. "Come on and kiss me!" And like a snake, she struck.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
Henry went for a walk before heading home. He entered a shrine he saw from before and looked around. There were the standard items, and some nicely pruned bushes and hedges. There was even a cluster of cherry blossom trees near the house.  
  
"Can I help you?" someone asked. Henry turned to see an older woman, maybe fifty, looking at him with a smile.  
  
"I'm just looking around. I only moved here recently, and though I should get to know the area," he said.  
  
"Nothing wrong with that," the woman said. "Welcome to the Nonaka Shrine. It's privately owned, and a nice place at that."  
  
'Nonaka? I KNOW I've heard that name before.' Henry smiled. "It is a nice place. Do you work here?"  
  
"Oh no, I live here with my daughter and another person. Have you heard of Rumiko Nonaka?"  
  
"The model?"  
  
"She's my daughter," the woman said. "She hasn't been able to find an apprentice to become her successor, though she tries. I keep the shrine here up and running, and some people come here from time to time."  
  
"I might come here again if I have some free time," Henry said. He talked with the woman for a short while longer and then hurried home. He needed to think, and if he could figure out this Nonaka puzzle in front of him---  
  
'Oh, puh-leaze,' his dark side groaned. 'I've already figured that part out, ever since the old bat told you who she was, and about her daughter. That megalomaniac should be your first clue or something.'  
  
"You know, I think you're getting worse at annoying me," Henry said smugly.  
  
'Ha-ha, now shut up and listen.'  
  
"I don't want your help in figuring the vamp out," Henry said flatly.  
  
'Aw, because I was just gonna tell you who she is. But if you don't want to know, too bad. I'll just sit here and make fun of your inability to control your emotions. We both know you want to have that vampire in your heart, soul, and bed---"  
  
"I don't remember looking at any adult materials lately."  
  
'Well I just happen to know more than you. That girl wants to show you the time of your un-life, and you just shrug her off like a common hooker. How low is THAT? You can be so cold-hearted---'  
  
"Cold-hearted? I'm not the one who mocks people and belittles them, or the vampire that goes around and sucks the life from someone!"  
  
'But you want to be. Face it: You've always wanted to know what happens when the bad guy wins, and there are virtually none of those stories about, except where you come in.'  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
'You know exactly what I'm talking about. That girl makes your blood race, and all she wants is a little love. Even I could offer her a good word, but you try and kill her. Maybe I should try and take over. I think she'd LIKE me.'  
  
"Not if I have any say in it. This is my body, and it'll stay like that."  
  
'Perhaps, but I can still make you doubt yourself. You need me, Henry Wong, just like you need the vamp. You love her and you know it, but won't accept it. Let's hope you don't choke on your own confusion.'  
  
The presence was gone, and he could finally think. He knew the vampire was the key to everything, and that she was somehow connected to the Nonakas, but HOW he couldn't figure out. He needed more time, more facts.  
  
He checked his clock. It was six in the evening, and would be dark at seven. In one hour the vampire would rise, and he would find her and get the truth. Or would she get the truth from HIM?  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
Takato was in the biggest pickle of his life. Jeri had just puckered up and forced a lip-locker on him, and he was pinned against the bench by her body. She was tracing small circles on his chest with her finger, and it was slowly turning him on.  
  
He was extremely fortunate that nobody was around, or he would die of embarrassment. It was mortifying to be caught like this! And he could already feel his fur starting to sprout under his shirt. If Jeri decided to become Little Detective Kato, she'd get a shocker.  
  
His hand was starting to morph into a wolf's paw, the brown fur giving it a fine coat. He felt his panic rise and he forced himself to concentrate on changing it back. Jeri was engulfed in the throes of passion, and didn't seem to notice.  
  
In her mind, Jeri picked up Takato's change in scent. It was wild again, but tainted with panic---obviously, he thought she didn't know. But he would learn soon enough, when his family had been thoroughly checked out by hers. She briefly wondered if he could pick up her scent whenever she changed: from an apple-cinnamon scent to a pure cinnamon scent. Takato would always smell good with his wild scent.  
  
But they would of course have to be more careful from now on: The vampire girl was still at large, and Jeri didn't want her Takato all messed up like before. It was a good thing that other creature Jeri had seen fleeing had done some good, attacking the vampire.  
  
But it was okay for now. Jeri would keep BOTH of her eyes on Takato---her human, and her other.  
  
**************************************************************  
  
Rika was slow in waking, but got up. She yawned from being a little tired from her boy hunting, her fangs showing when she was yawning, but she shrugged it off. Getting a bottle of blood from the kitchen, she stared at the moon, trying to figure out what exactly to do next.  
  
She wondered whether she should bite the Chinese kid or not, and whether she should kill him afterwards. If she had more time---  
  
"Thanks for havin' your fox girl around," Impmon said. He still had a few bruises, but ignored them.  
  
"Don't thank me, thank her. She's my only real friend, and on a lighter note my bodyguard, although I hardly need one."  
  
"Tell that to vampire hunters who kill in the daylight."  
  
"Point."  
  
"You know, I think you're worried about something."  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
"Yep. You got that distracted look in your eye like some kid gave you a big problem, but instead of hitting him, you're hitting ON him."  
  
Rika looked at Impmon, and saw the smug confidence he had in his own words. "So what if I like him?"  
  
"Then you need to tell him how you feel. I may be a nuisance and a hobgoblin, but even I have had my love life."  
  
"With a mushroom, maybe."  
  
"Oh, that was real funny. Why don't you stop thinking vampires are the highest state of being a person can be and look at the REAL picture? You could wake up and see you lovebird dead tomorrow, and you don't even care about that. You may walk away from stuff he can't but the point is that HE CAN'T. So tell him the truth, and maybe you'll actually get somewhere in life before dying for good."  
  
Rika said nothing, letting her blood burn as she felt the truth in the words sink in. Impmon was a pest, but he knew the answers to a lot of questions.  
  
'Maybe I should see him. I don't even know his name. I don't know if he's figured out my real name or not, but he probably knows I'm the Digimon Queen, and rightfully so. I mean, I'm a VAMPIRE, for crying out loud. I can do things no human can do.  
  
'But can I love like a human can?' Rika got up and left her home, looking for the boy.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Takato came home looking like he was zoned out, his face blank. Mrs. Matsuki had to help him up the stairs, all the while muttering about what "That Kato girl" did to him.  
  
As for Takato, he felt like taking a long, hot bath. Jeri had made out with him, and he had really gone nuts on the inside. Was he in love? He didn't know for sure, but he knew he could be.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Henry was asleep when he heard the knocking. He rolled over, covering his head with his comforter and trying to block out the noise. Maybe his parents would get it.  
  
But the knocks kept coming, and he scowled as he sat up---and saw her staring straight at him. Her cold eyes filled with a strange innocence, the vampire girl was attached to the edges of his window, waiting to be let in.  
  
Henry gulped, feeling more than a deal of fear for the first time in a long time...  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: As always, READ N REVIEW, or I might as well stop!  
  
ALSO!! I wonder whether or not anyone would like the idea of my giving Rika powers and causing her to become an engine of destruction, like with the X- Men or something? It's a fic I have planned, but only slightly.  
  
MAJOR NOTE: I plan to write a story about the First Season DD taking over the Digital World and being challenged by the Second Season DD. Let me know what ya think! 


	8. Heartfelt

Shadowed Friendship  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: Since I just got some info on how to get more reviews, I'll be trying to do just that, but otherwise I'm doing okay.  
  
TO Rukato86: I'll try to get that in an alternate ending, since I love stories that do those.  
  
TO Anime Master ZERO: I didn't say that Rika would be the "engine" in THIS fic, dolt! But thanks for all the info, and the sweet reviews, pal!  
  
TO Henrika: No, you aren't dumb---just maybe a teensy bit dense (No offense, but that could be it). Oh, and I WILL tell everyone about Jeri later, since I need to drag this fic out as long as possible for maximum reviews.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 8: Heartfelt  
  
  
  
  
  
Henry gulped again, his strength draining by the second as he eyes the vampire hovering outside like a hawk would watch its prey. She wasn't dressed for the occasion, still wearing her leather jacket he had first seen her in. Maybe that was her favorite jacket or something?  
  
Henry swallowed deeply before getting up, ignoring that he was only wearing his boxers at this time of night. The vampire girl chuckled when she saw the boxers with little judo monkey pictures on them. Henry unlocked the window and opened it.  
  
The vampire smiled her thanks and moved forward, but Henry held up a hand. "I didn't invite you in, remember? I just opened the window."  
  
The girl rolled her eyes. "You and whatever issues you have."  
  
"Is there something you wanted?"  
  
"As cold as I am. I like that in a boyfriend."  
  
"I can always go back to bed."  
  
"Oh, all right. I came to see you."  
  
"And now you have. Good day."  
  
"That was a weak joke. Look, I really need to talk with you."  
  
"About?"  
  
"You know what I mean. We both like each other, but don't have the guts to say anything other than foul language and death threats."  
  
Henry looked away from her. She was dead right, and he knew it. "Yeah. Look, I didn't mean to hurt you when you tried to bite me, but I just reacted on survival instincts."  
  
"I know. Don't worry; vampires aren't easily hurt. Listen, I might be better off coming in; someone might spot me hanging around here."  
  
Henry snickered. "Just don't turn me and I'll talk."  
  
"Deal." The girl entered as Henry moved aside to give her room, and she chose to sit on his bed, looking around his room at the personal effects. She flinched when she saw a few crosses and crucifixes around the door; she snorted at his poster of a wolf howling at the moon; she almost laughed when she saw his closet, and its almost endless supply of orange vests with brown shirt and shorts.  
  
"You know, I don't think you're that bad-looking," Rika said. "Almost handsome."  
  
"Thanks. You're lovely yourself, except that---"  
  
"My head looks like a pineapple, I know. People have always told me that, and I always suck them dry. I never thought about whom they loved, or whom I loved. I care about my family a lot, yeah, but they're family."  
  
"Families change. My dad and I ran into a witch that really loved him, and tried to make him hers, but it didn't go like she planned. I kind of keep thinking that you're like that witch: You love me, but can't express it the right way. I'm kind of like that too."  
  
"I guess so. But do you think that it could work out between us? I tried to make you like me, and you tried to burn me with a cross."  
  
"As long as no one has any qualms about us, I don't see why not."  
  
Rika scratched her neck nervously. "Well that might be a little difficult. My bodyguard busted up a couple of half-demons, and I tried to kill a werewolf. He was with some girl, and they were making out when I showed up."  
  
Henry eyed her. "You didn't kill anyone, did you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Good. If you see them again, you should apologize and explain everything."  
  
"What?" Rika said, gaping at him.  
  
"Look, I won't love a homicidal maniac. If you don't have the guts to clean up your own messes, then no one will."  
  
Rika looked at the floor. Henry was right: She needed to atone for her past misdeeds. "Fine. What about you?"  
  
"Who said anything about me? I'll just be waiting for you."  
  
Rika nodded. "I should get going---"  
  
"Henry?" someone at the door asked. "Who is that?"  
  
"Crud!" Henry hissed to Rika. "It's my mom! She can't see you!"  
  
"Trust me," Rika whispered back.  
  
Henry opened the door, sweating bullets. Mayumi Wong peered into the dim room. "I heard you talking with someone in here. And don't lie to me, because I know I did."  
  
Henry gulped. "Mom, I was just thinking aloud."  
  
"Your window is open."  
  
"Fresh air."  
  
"And that smell?" Mayumi asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Smell? I don't smell anything." Henry was smiling, trying to act cool, but was nervous. From her hiding place, Rika silently cursed Mayumi---so what if vampires had a faint putrid odor? They were the undead, for Pete's sake!  
  
"I really don't smell anything," Henry lied again.  
  
"All right, but keep quiet," Mayumi warned, kissing Henry before going back to bed. Rika felt her heart---or what passed for it since she was a vampire---ache. She wanted to be loved like that, so casually.  
  
"All clear," Henry whispered, and Rika floated down from the ceiling, having been on her back as if it were the floor.  
  
"Let's not have that again," she said.  
  
"Yeah, I know." He smiled at her. "You better leave before she comes back."  
  
Rika nodded and went to the window. Before she left, though, she gave Henry a kiss on the lips and then leaped out, changing into a bat halfway down. She flew off, and he watched her, his fingers feeling his lips.  
  
'She kissed me!' he thought.  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
Takato was having a truly psychotic---or at least, very strange---dream.  
  
He was in his wolf form, racing after the fox that had helped him against Rika. But he couldn't catch the fox, no matter how he tried. The fox ran into a house, one that looked familiar, but before Takato could follow he was suddenly somewhere else.  
  
He was outside a shrine, and he moved into it, following his instincts as he went into a particular room, a dark room with a coffin at the far end. The coffin opened and out stepped Rika, but she seemed gentle and loving now, rather than murderous.  
  
Takato was human again, and he let Rika put her arms around him and kiss--- and suddenly they were in the throes of passion, enjoying the satisfactory biological act, not caring that one was a vampire and the other a werewolf.  
  
And then, abruptly, Takato was with the fox, in wolf form, and he was pumping her doggy-style like there was no tomorrow. Then he was with Jeri, and he was doing what he had done with Rika, only with Jeri.  
  
The dream broke off, and Takato snapped wide-awake, panting and confused. He knew that dream meant something: Most likely that he loved two people, since he had made love to what seemed like two people, even though he didn't know anything about the fox---  
  
Takato's breath caught as he realized the truth.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: Short, I know, but I want to wrap this up.  
  
MAJOR NOTE: I WILL WRITE A FIC ABOUT FIRST SEASON DD BEING THE EVIL RULERS OF THE DIGIWORLD AND HAVE THE SECOND SEASON DD BE THE HEROES! TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!  
  
READ N REVIEW! 


	9. Change of Heart

Shadowed Friendship  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS, EVERYONE!  
  
TO TerrierLee: You and everyone else will find out what Season TK and Kari are in when I write that fic. Also, I said I would write two endings for this story!  
  
TO Black: I've already taken Ken into consideration. And you two little psychos (no offense meant!) will get to see Takato go super ballistic on everyone when things begin to draw to an end.  
  
TO Anime Master ZERO: Oh, Takato has already learned. And yes, I have thought about the wolfsbane; thanks for the invaluable data once again. And I am very sorry, but that 50-year thing won't work for this fic.  
  
TO Hitomi No Ryu(): I must admit, the way you wrote that review is quite impressive. And thank you very much for the Tamers-as-servants idea.  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
Chapter 9: Change of Heart  
  
  
  
  
  
"Henry!" Mayumi Wong exclaimed. Her son went rigid and spun around, gaping in pure shock at his mother. "What is going on here?" the woman demanded.  
  
"I can explain!" Henry said.  
  
"Explain what?" Janyu said, glowering at Henry. "That you've been in love with some vampire that has actually murdered people?"  
  
"It's not like that, honest! Just let me explain everything!"  
  
"I think WE'LL do the explaining, young man," Janyu said, grabbing Henry's arm and pulling him down the hall and into the living room. "We are going to have a VERY long talk about this little secret of yours."  
  
"And then we'll deal with that THING," Mayumi said, shuddering in disgust. She knew she had smelled a freak! "No son of MINE is loving some pineapple- headed vampire!"  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Takato was thinking over the dream during breakfast. He asked his dad about that sort of stuff, but the older man replied that he couldn't explain something that weird. Next, Takato asked his mother, because she had once been a werewolf, but Mrs. Matsuki said that she had never really had many dreams like that.  
  
"They must be different for each person," she said. "I once dreamt that I was walking through a blizzard and found a man's home. When I entered, I found someone I had new feelings for. It wasn't long afterwards that I met your father."  
  
"But, Rika and Jeri---"  
  
"I don't know, Takato. Mrs. Kato seemed very strange when I met her in the hospital after the vampire's attack on you and Jeri---she kept inhaling deeply through her nostrils---but I can't say I picked up on anything. Not very many creatures can use their inhuman abilities while they appear human, you know."  
  
The doorbell rang and Takato went to answer it. Kazu and Kenta were there, and Kazu still had a neck brace on.  
  
"Hey, Chun-Li," Kazu greeted as usual. "Glad to see me?"  
  
"I guess," Takato shrugged. "Should I be?"  
  
"Dude, Kazu should still be in bed!" Kenta informed his friend. "After falling down the stairs, he needs to be careful at all times." It was the perfect lie: Everyone knew that falling down the stairs could get anything broken.  
  
"Would you two morons move?" a girl asked from behind.  
  
"Who's going to make us---?" Kazu said, breaking off when he saw the girl was Jeri, who looked annoyed at the half-demons' terrible timing. "Oh, Jeri, nice to see you!"  
  
"Shut up, Kazu," Jeri said briskly, stepping forward and pulling Takato outside. "You can run away in fear now."  
  
Kazu and Kenta, both having picked up on Jeri's incredibly solid confidence in her own authority, took off for a safe spot. Takato gulped, wondering whether he was in trouble again or not.  
  
"Takato, we need to have another talk." (AN: Man, there sure are a lot of talks cropping up lately.)  
  
"Uh, sure, Jeri," he managed to get out before she dragged him by the arm to the park. "Um, Jeri, did you ever have this crazy dream where you're an animal and so is this friend of yours---?"  
  
"Takato, are you saying you just had some vision or something and figured everything out?" Jeri asked, grinning.  
  
"Well, yeah, I think I did."  
  
Jeri's smile should have split her head in half. "You know, Takato, it's been a while since I found out that you're a werewolf, but you only recently figured out that I'm a fox."  
  
"There are were-foxes?" Takato blinked.  
  
"I can't say that exactly, but there are fox-maidens. My mother is one, and she knows that your mother used to be a werewolf like you."  
  
"Gee, that's...nice." Takato was nervous to no end now. Jeri's family knew everything about his before the opposite happened. "Listen, Jeri, I can't figure out whether or not I love you, but I know that you love me. I mean, my hand started to change when we were kissing, but I don't know if that means we're meant for each other or not."  
  
Jeri waited a moment before responding. "Takato, I know that you're confused, but I think that we are meant for each other. Our species are compatible with one another, and we can relate on more than one thing. I can't make your choice for you, but I can ask that you choose the future that has me in it."  
  
"Thanks for not freaking out or anything," Takato sighed.  
  
They kept talking, long into the night.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
"I can hardly believe it," Henry's sister said. (AN:I don't know her name!) "You and a vampire? I have to say, Henry, you have some pretty sick tastes."  
  
"Thanks a lot," Henry replied sarcastically. He had been tied to a chair, bound with rope and unable to get loose. He knew his old man was fanatical in his beliefs sometimes, and would probably kill Rika if she came back. Henry had to warn her.  
  
"What does anyone see in them anyway?" his sister went on. "I mean, they're DEAD freaks of nature. They need to be exterminated, not allowed to have dates. Let's just hope Mom and Dad get you a real girlfriend soon, and get that suck-head in the grave."  
  
"How can you so cold-bloodedly condemn someone you don't even know?" Henry demanded, incredulous. "That vampire may not be living, but she's more human than the rest of this family!"  
  
"Henry likes a monster, Terriermon!" Susie said, still trapped in her little dream world. She held up the doll. "He loves her!"  
  
"Go away, Susie!" Henry snapped. The little girl yelped and ran to her room.  
  
"Watch it; she'll tell Mom and Dad about that when they get back. Oh, it's almost time for my date!" She ran off to get ready.  
  
Henry tried to get loose again, hoping to save Rika.  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
"Finally," Rika grumbled when she spotted Takato and Jeri talking. The two lovebirds were surprised but not frightened of her, and Jeri looked ready to have a better fight that last time. Rika rolled her eyes. "I'm not here to cause trouble. I just want to talk."  
  
"About what?" Jeri demanded.  
  
"I want to apologize for trying to kill your boyfriend. I had a talk a while ago, and a friend of mine helped me clear my head of some bad stuff."  
  
"So? This could be a trick!" Jeri said.  
  
"It's no trick," Rika insisted. "I really AM sorry I hurt you, but at least I didn't kill either of you."  
  
"Maybe we should listen to her," Takato said. "If she's being honest?"  
  
"I am."  
  
"Then go ahead; I'm listening."  
  
"This kid I love, Henry---"  
  
"Henry Wong?" Takato asked.  
  
"You know him?"  
  
"We go to school together!"  
  
"Anyway, Henry and I met some time ago, and when turning him didn't work, I started to talk with him. He told me some stuff, and we kind of got to know each other. He told me to apologize to you because it was the right thing to do. So here I am."  
  
"So, you're not going to try and kill Takato?" Jeri asked.  
  
"No."  
  
"Good, or I'd mess you up again."  
  
"Again? Then you must be that stupid fox that was annoying me!"  
  
"Annoying?"  
  
"Ladies, please!" Takato begged, standing between them. Rika had to admit, he was rather handsome for a werewolf his age. She blinked when she realized she had just found out that she might like him. Henry was a good boy, but maybe he was just a crush?  
  
"I better go before I cause more trouble," Rika said, leaving.  
  
Takato felt different as Rika left. He wondered whether he liked her or not. As a friend, maybe, but this new feeling of his told him that Jeri might not be what he needs for a love life. If he could just figure some stuff out, then he could be with Rika instead.  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
"I said it before and I'll say it again," Kazu told Kenta as the two walked down the street, "I HATE that stupid Renamon."  
  
"Tell me about it," Kenta agreed. "She broke your neck, but you were lucky enough to still live. At least we can still go about and cause our usual trouble."  
  
"I know, but---Holy crap!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Vampire, dead ahead!" Kazu pointed down the street, at the approaching figure of Rika. "Dude, we're screwed!"  
  
The two turned around to run, but Rika used her preternatural speed and easily caught them. "Well, if it isn't everyone's favorite little half- losers!"  
  
"Bite me! Oh, crud, no, don't do that!" Kenta said, cursing himself for giving her an idea.  
  
"I think I'll pick up where Renamon left off," Rika said, running her tongue over her exposed fangs.  
  
"That was YOUR Renamon?" Kazu gaped.  
  
"Right, loser, and now you get the vampire treatment!" Rika started a twisted, maniacal laugh as she used her razor sharp claws to put a gash in Kazu's arm, and then slammed his into a wall. He didn't get back up, but grumbled under his breath.  
  
"Your turn!" Rika laughed, tearing a vicious series of cuts in Kenta's face. He screamed, but she ignored that and kept hacking away, eventually leaving him to die slowly in a puddle of his own blood. He started to revert to his demonic form, unable to maintain a human appearance.  
  
"Hold it right there!" a man shouted, rushing towards Rika with a stake ready. But the vampire Digimon Queen merely laughed and took to the air, flipping the man off as she left the scene.  
  
Janyu cursed virulently and then calmed down enough to examine the boys' bodies. Kazu was still alive, and Kenta was almost dead, would be soon. Janyu was disgusted as he found they were demon-human hybrid offspring. He drove a stake into each of them.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
"Henry?" Rika asked, looking around. She was quiet when entering, and kept a hunter's silence. She heard a muffled cry and hurried cautiously to the kitchen of the Wong apartment, finding her lover boy bound and gagged. "What happened?" she asked as she freed him.  
  
"My parents want you dead!" he told her. "We have to get out of here and somewhere safe!"  
  
"Jesus!" Henry's sister gasped when she saw Rika. She had returned from her date early. "It's the vamp!"  
  
"I can take care of her," Rika grinned, leaping forward and grabbing the girl. She showed her fangs. "I think I need a bite."  
  
"We don't have time!" Henry hissed. "We have to run for it now!"  
  
"Oh, all right." Rika used a sleeper hold on the girl, and left her on the couch. "I know a place we can use: The park."  
  
"Then let's go."  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: I hope everyone likes what I'm doing, b/c this isn't exactly easy, with my schoolwork interfering and all.  
  
READ N REVIEW, 'CAUSE I NEED TO WRITE MORE GREAT FICS! NEXT ONE IS THE 1ST VS. 2ND SEASON! 


	10. Finale One

Shadowed Friendship  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: I'm so damn proud of all my reviews! This is my best story ever, with over 40 reviews!  
  
TO Henrika: No, Janyu can still cause some trouble. After all, have you ever wondered why the younger people are forced to put the elderly in old folks' homes? Those things are DANGEROUS!  
  
TO Anime Master ZERO: Wrong sister, dofus! Thanks for the quality-level thing, though.  
  
TO Yoda not I'm(): Vampires, usually, are unable to enter privately owned places like peoples' homes unless invited, but she was invited inside in Chapter 8.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Chapter 10: Finale One  
  
  
  
"Uh, Jeri, shouldn't we tell our parents about all these secrets?" Takato asked. He had forced himself to stop thinking of how cute Rika the vampire was and get back to the present.  
  
"Oh, we will," Jeri said. "But we need to do some things of our own first."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Like the details for our wedding," she said, grinning.  
  
Takato's jaw dropped. "Jeri, aren't you planning a little too far ahead? That won't be for years!"  
  
"No time like the present."  
  
"But shouldn't we tell our parents first?"  
  
"Oh, all right." Jeri pulled some change from her pocket. "You call your parents, I'll call mine."  
  
Takato felt he might have just found out why girls are so weird.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Henry ran alongside Rika, although she ran much easier than him. It was probably the whole vampire thing. The park wasn't far; they could make it before anyone found them. But what would happen when they did get to the park? Would Rika bite him?  
  
"Rika?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Are you secretly planning on turning me or something?"  
  
"Don't flatter yourself, but the though HAD crossed my mind once or twice."  
  
"What if I wanted you to do it?"  
  
"I guess so, but only if you really wanted it."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Anytime."  
  
They reached the park with enough night left to enjoy each other's company. Rika led the way to a small concrete hut-like structure and entered. The two sat on the cold dirt floor, trying to ignore the lack of heat the ground had.  
  
Henry was about to say something when Rika stopped him. "Someone's out there," she said, pointing to the doorway of the hut. "They're coming closer."  
  
The two kept quiet as a couple of voices came closer, and the talkers came into view. Henry recognized Takato, but couldn't recall the girl's name, although he was certain he had seen her before. He had to admit that she was a cute girl.  
  
When the two were near, Rika called them over. "What are you guys doing here?"  
  
"Well, Jeri and I kind of told each other the truth about everything," Takato replied.  
  
"So she knows you're a werewolf?" Rika asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Takato nodded as Henry gaped at him. "Takato?"  
  
"What? You're hiding in a hut with a vampire."  
  
"You've got a point," Henry conceded. "I guess I shouldn't judge you. But what about Jeri? With our collective luck, she ought to turn out to be something."  
  
"I'm a fox."  
  
"And I skinny one at that," Rika snickered. Henry and Takato laughed along while Jeri fumed.  
  
"At least I don't give people the Kiss of Death!" Jeri retorted. Rika glared at her.  
  
"I think we all better calm down with the comments," Henry suggested. "And we need to wonder what will happen with our parents. After all, they're going to be looking for us."  
  
"Mine won't," Rika said. "Renamon will come searching for me, but my parents will play it safe."  
  
"Mine will probably look for me," Takato said.  
  
"I can take care of myself," Jeri said.  
  
"Like you did the first time you were alone with Takato and me?" Rika said.  
  
"Can we not have infighting here?" Henry snapped. "We have a lot to do before we probably get caught."  
  
"Or before I have to rest," Rika reminded him. "Don't forget about the whole daylight thing."  
  
"I know," Henry said.  
  
"We can't hide from our parents forever," Takato said. "We'll need to go back home sometime---"  
  
"Watch it!" Rika yelled, shoving Henry to the ground and pushing Takato and Jeri back. An arrow shot past and embedded itself in the hut's exterior.  
  
"Who did that?" Takato asked as he got up.  
  
"Never got this lucky before in my life." The man standing a few meters away was tall and wore glasses, even though it was night. His blond hair was unruly, but he didn't mind. "A vampire, a fox, and a werewolf. My luck is really improving."  
  
"Who ARE you?" Henry demanded.  
  
"Yamaki," the man replied simply. He threw a small knife at Rika, but she dodged.  
  
"Knives don't work on vampires, idiot."  
  
"They do when laced with garlic."  
  
Takato was trying to avoid injury and force a transformation, while an already-transformed Jeri and a pissed-off Rika attacked Yamaki. His fur sprouted as fast as he could make it, but he wasn't turning into something strong enough to stop the psycho.  
  
Rika sank her claws into Yamaki's thigh, and he grunted as he shoved her back. She rolled away to dodge another knife.  
  
Jeri leapt onto Yamaki's back and sank her teeth into his shoulder. The bite didn't go through the jacket he wore, but got his attention. He bucked and tried to throw her off, but she held on. Henry rammed the man in the stomach, causing him to double over.  
  
That was when Takato went ballistic.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Takato had never exactly been the biggest or the strongest, or had many points in any fields that kids considered early in life. He wasn't very tall, and wasn't always the smartest, but he did try.  
  
Right now, though, trying would only make him fail. He needed to SUCCEED, to get rid of the threat posed by Yamaki. He had to DESTROY Yamaki!  
  
His gasp of brief pain during the transformation turned into a terrible roar as his arms became larger, harrier, more muscular; his hands were larger and his fingernails had turned into deadly claws; his face had elongated and he now had a snout; his eyes blazed with rage.  
  
Takato, his massive and intimidating moving swiftly despite its lumbering appearance, charged and tackled Yamaki as Rika and the others dove out of the way. The man tried to push Takato off, but the werewolf was too big and too intent on its goal to be so easily put off. Takato's claws tore into Yamaki, and after a horrific moment of snarls and slashes, the slayer was little more than a tangled mass of meat and blood.  
  
The strength drained from Takato, and he became the frail human boy he normally was. His clothes had been shredded when he changed, but Henry gave him his vest, which was large enough to cover Takato's privates.  
  
"Remind me never to make fun of you again," Rika said. "Nice work, though. He wasn't too easy for us."  
  
"I'm going to be sick," Takato groaned, not looking too well.  
  
"There, there," Jeri said, patting his back. "You'll feel better soon enough."  
  
"Rika?" Henry asked.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"My dad isn't going to stop looking for us, so we need to do the only thing that might make him stop."  
  
"You sure you're ready for that?"  
  
"I'm sure." Rika cracked her knuckles jokingly and then wrapped her arms around him. He exposed his neck, and she sank her fangs in for a second time. The only difference was that she actually drained him. His senses were going wild with new sensations as Rika sucked his blood. When she was done, he slowly started to change. The most evident thing was his skin, which was turning a lighter shade.  
  
"I guess we'll see you guys sometime," Rika said as she helped Henry up.  
  
"I guess," Jeri said. "Don't go anywhere that we can't find you."  
  
"We won't," Rika promised. She and Henry left, heading for her place.  
  
Jeri noticed that dawn wasn't far off and wished them luck. She herself helped Takato back to his house, all the time managing not to be spotted by passersby. That would have been mortifying.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
"So this is the one I've heard so much about," Rumiko said as she eyed Henry's sleeping form. Rika and her friend were both sleeping for the day in her room, but Rumiko and Seiko were looking in through a crack made when they partially opened the door.  
  
"He really is a nice boy," Seiko insisted. "He'll be good to Rika."  
  
"And if he isn't, she'll teach him some manners." Rumiko hadn't forgotten what Rika had done to that Ryo boy not too long ago.  
  
"I think they love each other, or she wouldn't have turned him," Seiko said.  
  
"We'll have to make sure to get good pictures at the wedding. After all, they're immortal, so why shouldn't they be married now? Those two are going to be kids until they die."  
  
"Rika mentioned something about a werewolf to me," Seiko said. "We could invite him."  
  
"We need more than that." The conversation went on for a long while.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
It was a while before Henry wrote his family a letter, telling them everything and asking that they not look for him or the vampire girl; he was careful not to mention Rika's name.  
  
Janyu was not at all happy with the letter, but knew he couldn't do a thing about it. Mayumi was upset, but eventually got over it and hoped her son was happy. Susie was still a dimwit (AN: I always have and always will hate that kid). Jaarin was more cautious about her dates from now on (AN: I think that's her name).  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
When they were old enough, Takato and Jeri got hitched. They held a small, very private wedding at night, mindful of the fact that vampires wither in sunlight. Henry and Rika, and both of Rika's parents were invited (AN: Her mothers, fools). Jeri's family and Takato's family came as well.  
  
Rika caught the bouquet when it was thrown, but she had already married Henry after he had gotten used to being a vampire, which wasn't long after being turned.  
  
All in all, the couples were happy with the events of life. Takato sort of missed Kazu and Kenta, but decided he was better off without those morons. Henry missed his family a little, but knew his parents would probably try and exorcise him if he saw them again. Jeri was thinking of something to be both happy and sad about when Rika dumped a bucket of water on her, drenching the wedding dress and starting a catfight, which quickly became a fox-fight when Renamon intervened.  
  
Everyone had the time of their lives, despite the hardships.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: Well, that's the first ending there, BUT THERE IS A SECOND ENDING COMING UP NEXT! SO READ N REVIEW OR ELSE I WON'T WRITE ANY MORE!  
  
AND REMEMBER: FIRST DD VERSUS SECOND DD IS NEXT STORY IN THIS SERIES! 


	11. Finale Two

Shadowed Friendship  
  
By Blackheart Syaoran  
  
AUTHOR: THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS, EVERYONE! AND DOESN'T ANYONE CARE THAT I HAD RIKA DUMP A BUCKET OF WATER ON JERI?  
  
TO Anime Master ZERO: I AM VERY SORRY IF I INSULTED YOU! But I think that everyone knows who Susie is (shudders in disgust of the little twerp).  
  
TO Demon FOX(): I intend to do a couple other stories like this.  
  
TO Devidramon: Because he hasn't gone through the alternate ending yet.  
  
TO Hitomi No Ryu(): I can't make everybody happy, sweets. You have to break a few eggs to egg someone's house.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Chapter 11: Finale Two  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Never got this lucky before in my life." The man standing a few meters away was tall and wore glasses, even though it was night. His blond hair was unruly, but he didn't mind. "A vampire, a fox, and a werewolf. My luck is really improving."  
  
"Who ARE you?" Henry demanded.  
  
"Yamaki," the man replied simply. He threw a small knife at Rika, but she dodged.  
  
"Knives don't work on vampires, idiot."  
  
"They do when laced with garlic."  
  
Takato was trying to force a transformation, while an already-transformed Jeri and a pissed-off Rika attacked Yamaki. His fur sprouted as fast as he could make it, but he wasn't turning into something strong enough to stop the psycho.  
  
Rika sank her claws into Yamaki's thigh, and he grunted as he shoved her back. She rolled away to dodge another knife.  
  
Jeri leapt onto Yamaki's back and sank her teeth into his shoulder. The bite didn't go through the jacket he wore, but got his attention. He bucked and tried to throw her off, but she held on. Henry rammed the man in the stomach, causing him to double over.  
  
That was when Takato went ballistic.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Takato had never exactly been the biggest or the strongest, or had many points in any fields that kids considered early in life. He wasn't very tall, and wasn't always the smartest, but he did try.  
  
Right now, though, trying would only make him fail. He needed to SUCCEED, to get rid of the threat posed by Yamaki. He had to DESTROY Yamaki!  
  
His gasp of brief pain during the transformation turned into a terrible roar as his arms became larger, harrier, more muscular; his hands were larger and his fingernails had turned into deadly claws; his face had elongated and he now had a snout; his eyes blazed with rage; a thick and wild mane sprouted on his back; his teeth became killer fangs; and his insides were on fire with pure energy.  
  
Takato, his massive and intimidating moving swiftly despite its lumbering appearance, charged and tackled Yamaki as Rika and the others dove out of the way. The man held Takato in a chokehold while digging one hand through a pocket. He pulled out a brown root of some sort, but Takato sank his teeth into Yamaki's hand.  
  
The slayer grunted, and jammed the root into Takato's watering mouth. His bloodlust going into overdrive, the werewolf picked Yamaki up and threw him into the hut. Yamaki smacked into it, his ribs cracking, and slid to the ground.  
  
"Shit!" he swore when Takato leapt at him again, going for the kill.  
  
"Takato, stop!" Rika begged as she tried to tackle him. She grabbed his fur, but he was far too strong to be stopped by a child vampire. He swatted her aside easily, and she could only watch as Yamaki the Vampire Slayer (AN: Pun, I know) was torn to confetti.  
  
But then something unexpected happened: Takato reared his head and howled in pain. The trio watched in shock as his fur rippled and shifted, and he grew smaller. Wisps of steam could be seen emanating from his skin. The wolfsbane Yamaki had shoved into Takato's mouth was taking effect.  
  
With a final, strangled howl, Takato was human again, but completely exposed. Jeri and Rika ran over and checked on him, finding he was all right. Henry was just about to do the same when another surprise took place.  
  
"Finally! Do you have any idea how many places I've been looking for you?" Janyu said. He brandished a cross for Rika, with a silver-edged hatchet for Takato. Jeri and Rika moved in front of Takato to protect him, and Henry moved in front of them. "What do you think you are DOING, boy?" Janyu demanded of his son.  
  
"I won't let you kill my friend," Henry said flatly.  
  
"I didn't ask your permission. Now move!"  
  
"No."  
  
"You think this is a game? You think that these things can be trusted?"  
  
"I don't know why I ever trusted my own family!" Henry shot back. Janyu stared at him, and Henry kept talking. "My kid sister is a total nutcase, my whole family is filled with serial killer bigots, my only friends are considered human only by ME, and my dad wants to have a massacre of people who don't deserve it!"  
  
"I just saw them kill a colleague of mine!" Janyu retorted.  
  
"You colleague tried to murder us when we were doing nothing wrong! What kind of a person kills without reason? I'll tell you: A common murderer does! And my own father wants to be just like all those sick freaks in jail!"  
  
Janyu tried to talk, but Henry's statement of the truth had taken all the strength from his voice. He HAD murdered people that hadn't asked to be what they were, that were just trying to survive. The whole human race was responsible for so many evils, but slayers like Janyu were blinded by their quests to purify the world, when it was already clean enough. Light and shadow: A man casts a shadow, which is black, and black can sometimes be evil, but a shadow by itself is not evil.  
  
Janyu realized he had been forcing the shadow to be evil, when it never was. The cross dropped from his hands, and he dropped to his knees. He was mumbling things about how he had ruined lives all over, and how he couldn't let himself do it again.  
  
"He'll be out of it for a while," Henry said, turning---and seeing Rika sink her fangs into Takato's neck. Jeri was sprawled near them, knocked out by the vampire, and Rika kept on draining the young, former werewolf. Now that he was cured, she could make him a vampire, as well as Henry. "Rika!"  
  
She stopped drinking long enough to say, "I'm sorry, Henry, I really am, but I can only love you as a brother. Takato and me are meant for each other. You and Jeri have been eyeing each other like lovebirds, and you two should be together." She started drinking again. It took only a couple of minutes to drain Takato dry.  
  
"Henry, what's happening?" Jeri asked when she stirred.  
  
"Yamaki used some wolfsbane on Takato, which cured him, but then Rika turned him. He'll wake up a vampire."  
  
"What? You bitch!" Jeri tried to get up and attack Rika, but Renamon materialized out of thin air and pushed her down with a foot.  
  
"Heel," the magical Digimon ordered. But Jeri only snarled and morphed into her fox form, leaping at Renamon and biting. The other twisted and the fox-fight began. Cuts and slashes and curses were traded as Jeri fought Rika's personal bodyguard.  
  
"Jeri, stop it!" Henry snapped. "Takato may be worth fighting for, but he can't be yours now! He's a vampire! He loves you, and I admit now that I too have you."  
  
Jeri stopped and blinked in surprise. She changed back smoothly and eyed Henry. "You...love me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh, Henry!" Jeri cried, leaping at him and embracing him. He held her tight, ignoring the cuts and spots of blood from the scuffle.  
  
"Ahem," Rika said, clearing her throat. "I hope you two don't mind, but I need to head home now. Takato will need a place to sleep, and I happen to have a spare coffin."  
  
"Sure, go ahead," Henry nodded. Rika smiled goodbye and left, Renamon vanishing into thin air.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Seiko and Rumiko were awake when Rika came in carrying Takato's sleeping form.  
  
"Oh, Rika," Rumiko smiled, "is that your boyfriend?"  
  
"Yeah. Mom, Grandma, meet Takato Matsuki. He was a werewolf until tonight's brawl with a slayer, but some wolfsbane undid that and a bite to the jugular made him take my side."  
  
"Ah, young love," Seiko sighed wistfully.  
  
"Oh, Mom," Rumiko said, rolling her eyes. "You need to tell the boy's parents."  
  
"I will, but we need our beauty sleep."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Takato's parents were brought over the next day, while Takato and Rika were still asleep. Rumiko and Seiko explained everything to a raging couple, and Mrs. Matsuki discovered that she herself had accidentally eaten some wolfsbane when she had started living on her own, and had been forced to cook for herself.  
  
But somehow the curse passed to Takato, apparently only dormant in her fertile eggs and awaiting a host. Seiko told the Matsukis that Rika would make a good daughter-in-law for them, even though she had caused them much trouble and had turned their son into a vampire.  
  
Henry managed to work things out with his family, assisted by a clear- headed Janyu, and eventually introduced Rika, Takato, and his own girlfriend Jeri to them. The idea of a fox instead of a vampire was still a little odd for them, but they adapted well.  
  
Because they would never grow older from childhood, Takato and Rika held a small, private wedding for themselves, with only friends and family that were trusted with their secret. It was, of course, held at night.  
  
When they were sharing the cake, Takato got his piece in Rika's mouth, but Rika threw hers at Jeri's head, messing up the other girl's hair and almost starting another fight.  
  
All in all, things were going easy after a hard time.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
AUTHOR: Kind of "Happily-Ever-After" styled, but it works for this. After all, these kids suffered, so why the hell shouldn't they get some downtime?  
  
READ N REVIEW, CAUSE FIRST SEASON VS. SECOND SEASON IS NEXT, ALTHOUGH YOU MAY HAVE TO CHECK OUT MY PROFILE FOR IT!  
  
PS: IF THIS PICTURE SHOWS, TAKATO LOOKS LIKE THIS WHEN HE KILLS YAMAKI:  
  
[pic] 


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